QResear.ch

#21575765 at 2024-09-12 09:17:38 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21575759

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Marles' decision does not affect Campbell, who offered to return a Distinguished Service Cross awarded to him for his stewardship as commander of Middle East Operations but was knocked back by the Morrison government.

Martin Hamilton-Smith, the head of the Australian SAS Association, reacted angrily, saying: "This appears to be the first time in the history of ANZAC that an Australian government has so betrayed the courage and sacrifice of the men they sent to fight and die in our country's name."

Accusing Marles of "spitting at the feet of our Australian veterans", he said, "The message this sends is disgraceful."

RSL Australia president Greg Melick said the organisation firmly believed that no medals should be taken away until all investigations and potential trials had been completed.

"The RSL is aware of the significant strain this matter has placed on veterans, even those not involved in alleged incidents," he said.

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie, who served in the army for more than a decade, accused the government of "throwing our Diggers under the bus", telling Sky News that more senior Defence figures should be held accountable for any alleged wrongdoing in Afghanistan.

Lambie questioned why Marles had made the decision in the same week as tabling the final report from the royal commission into veteran suicide, saying she was concerned it could exacerbate veterans' mental health issues.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told 2GB that Marles had "abrogated responsibility here by letting this cloud hang for so long", but did not say whether he supported the decision.

He said he was glad Marles had stuck by his 2021 decision not to strip 3000 members of the Special Operations Task Group of their meritorious unit citations.

In his 2020 report, former NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton said that "it is difficult to see how any commander at the Special Operations Task Group, Squadron or Troop level, under whose command (or 'on whose watch') any substantiated incident referred to in this Report occurred, could in good conscience retain a distinguished service award in respect of that command".

The Distinguished Service Medal, introduced in 1991, is awarded for exceptional leadership in warlike operations. It entitles recipients to a nickel-silver medal with their details engraved upon it.

The government moved on another key recommendation of the Brereton inquiry in July by establishing a compensation scheme for the relatives of victims of alleged war crimes by Australian troops.

The Office of the Special Investigator, responsible for pursuing possible criminal charges arising from the Brereton report, is continuing its work.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/national-shame-richard-marles-strips-medals-from-afghanistan-war-commanders-20240911-p5k9te.html

#17381367 at 2022-08-12 10:44:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

'I will continue killing foreigners': soldier who shot dead unarmed Australians treated as 'returning hero' by Taliban

Exclusive: Hekmatullah, who killed three Australian soldiers, is living in a heavily protected luxury Kabul home after being freed from prison

Ben Doherty - 8 Aug 2022

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Hekmatullah, the rogue Afghan soldier who killed three unarmed Australian diggers in Afghanistan a decade ago, is living in a luxury home in the capital Kabul, treated as a "returning hero" by the Taliban who released him from prison.

He has said he does not regret killing Australian soldiers, and has vowed he would again kill Australians, or anyone who opposes the Taliban.

"If I am released I will continue killing foreigners," Hekmatullah told an official of the former Afghan government when his release was being negotiated.

"I will continue killing Australians and I will kill you as well because you are a puppet of foreigners," he said.

"I am among my brothers, we will be free, Afghanistan will be free. We will kill you."

Since returning to Afghanistan, Hekmatullah has reportedly been housed in the former diplomatic quarter of Wazir Akbar Khan. He lives in a heavily secured property in a district adjacent to the clandestine former home of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaida leader asSASsinated eight days ago by a US drone strike as he stood on the balcony of his villa.

Hekmatullah's release from prison in 2020 was fiercely resisted by Australia, with the government previously conceding it did not know where he had been since being freed.

Of 5,000 prisoners the Taliban wanted released as part of peace deal negotiations with the US, Hekmatullah was one of six terrorists that western governments fiercely resisted being pardoned, because they had either killed unarmed foreign nationals, were unrepentant about their crimes, or had vowed to commit further acts of violent terrorism.

A former senior official in the democratically elected government of Afghanistan - overthrown in August 2021 - has confirmed to the Guardian Hekmatullah's return to Afghanistan.

"He was welcomed back to Kabul as a hero ... with a house, car, guards, an amnesty for his crimes, his expenses are being paid for. He is being treated as a hero."

The Guardian has independently confirmed Hekmatullah's repatriation to Afghanistan. Family members of the Australian soldiers killed have said they have not been updated on his whereabouts.

On 29 August 2012, at Wahab, a patrol base in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Hekmatullah, then an Afghan National Army sergeant, drew his M16 and fired more than 30 rounds from close range at Australian troops. He killed three: L/Cpl Stjepan Milosevic, 40, Spr James Martin, 21, and Pte Robert Poate, 23.

Hekmatullah fled the base into the Baluchi valley and was designated a "high-value" target for the Australian SAS in Afghanistan within 24 hours. He was the sole target of a controversial SAS mission to the village of Darwan in Uruzgan province on 11 September 2012, based on - ultimately flawed - intelligence he was hiding in the village.

The mission was the subject of extensive evidence presented during the long-running defamation trial brought by the former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, who denies all wrongdoing in relation to an allegation he participated in the murder of an Afghan national during that mission.

Two other Australian SAS soldiers have also been accused of unlawfully killing Afghan nationals during the raid - allegations they deny.

It was not until February 2013 that Hekmatullah was arrested after being found hiding in Pakistan's lawless border region. Charged, tried and convicted of three counts of murder, Hekmatullah was sentenced to death, but served only seven years in Bagram prison before being moved to Qatar in 2020, where he lived under house arrest.

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, he returned to Afghanistan, where he now lives in Kabul.

(continued)

#15866438 at 2022-03-15 07:33:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15600712
Ben Roberts-Smith machine-gunned Afghan with prosthetic leg as 'an exhibition execution', witness alleges

Roberts-Smith 'wanted people to see he was going to kill someone', former comrade tells defamation trial during cross-examination

Ben Doherty - 15 Mar 2022

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Ben Roberts-Smith machine-gunned an Afghan prisoner to death as an "exhibition execution", a comrade has told the federal court during cross-examination.

"He wanted people to see he was going to kill someone out there in front of everyone," the former SAS soldier, anonymised before court as Person 24, testified during a combative, and at times emotional, second day in the witness box.

Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over reports he alleges portray him as committing war crimes, including murder.

The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing.

Person 24 told the court on Monday that he witnessed Roberts-Smith carry an Afghan man - whom he later discovered had a prosthetic left leg - outside of a village compound being raided by Australian troops.

"Mr Roberts-Smith walked out of the compound ... at this stage he was holding a man in his hand, it appeared he [the man] had come off the ground, he was being held by his pants or back of the shirt.

"He [Roberts-Smith] marched about 15 metres directly out - he dropped the man on to the ground - and immediately put a machine-gun burst into his back."

Person 24 said the machine-gun burst was "eight to 10 rounds" and told the court he said to a comrade standing next to him, "did we just witness an execution?".

The compound, codenamed Whiskey 108, was being "cleared" by Australian SAS troops, in the village of Kakarak, in Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province, in the late afternoon of 12 April 2009.

Person 24 is the third Australian soldier to give similar - though not identical - evidence they saw an Australian soldier shoot the man with the prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108, and the second witness to identify Roberts-Smith as the soldier allegedly responsible. He told the court he saw the soldier side-on from a distance of 20 metres, and while he did not see his face, he identified Roberts-Smith by his size, gait and "physical demeanour".

Other soldiers have given evidence they saw a man with a prosthetic leg, who was discovered hiding in a secret tunnel inside the compound, taken into the custody of Australian troops before being "marched off" by Roberts-Smith.

Roberts-Smith does not dispute he shot and killed the man with the prosthetic leg but says the man was legitimately engaged in battle.

Roberts-Smith was extensively questioned about the Whiskey 108 mission when he gave evidence in this trial last year: he said he saw the man carrying a weapon and running, and killed him in accordance with troops' rules of engagement.

"He had his hand over the top of the weapon, because he was carrying it down next to his body like that ... hunched over, as in, running like that with his shoulders down."

(continued)

#15680825 at 2022-02-21 08:13:00 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15600712
Army officer tells Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial VC recipient threatened to 'smash his face in'

Jamie McKinnell - 21 February 2022

A senior army officer has told a Sydney court he was left "in shock" when his subordinate, Ben Roberts-Smith, threatened to "smash his face in" at an unofficial soldiers' bar in Afghanistan.

Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, is suing three newspapers and three journalists for defamation, claiming 2018 articles contained false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence.

A witness known as Person 69 today told the Federal Court of his 2006 deployment to Afghanistan where he worked in an operational support role.

Person 69 recalled his understanding of a difficult mission where Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) operators in Mr Roberts-Smith's patrol were "surrounded" by Taliban fighters in the Chora Valley.

The witness, at that time a captain, later attended the Fat Ladies Arms bar with two warrant officers and overheard SAS operators discussing the mission.

He told the court he heard Mr Roberts-Smith say words to the effect of: "I was watching the expression on the guy's face as the bullets crept closer."

Person 69 said he looked over his shoulder towards Mr Roberts-Smith, then a lance corporal, who was sitting about a metre away.

"He saw me, turned to me, and said 'what the f*ck are you doing here … I should smash your face in'," Person 69 told the court.

"I was in shock because I had never been spoken to that way by a subordinate.

"I didn't really know what to say."

Person 69 said one of the warrant officers warned Mr Roberts-Smith to "pull your f*cking head in", while the other gave a "menacing stare".

"I decided it would be best I left and I never returned."

Person 69 said he had only ever been threatened three times during his career by his own team and remembered each occasion.

"It has a profound impact on me that my own team would threaten me," he said.

Under cross-examination by Bruce McClintock SC, Person 69 said he didn't report the matter because he believed it had been dealt with by the warrant officers.

He rejected Mr McClintock's suggestions the conversation never happened.

"It's ludicrous to think of a lance corporal saying that to a captain, isn't it?" Mr McClintock said.

"That's why I remember it," the witness replied.

The alleged conversation was put to Mr Roberts-Smith in the witness box last year, where he rejected that he made the comments or was reprimanded.

Person 69 also claimed earlier that day, in his accommodation, he overheard a junior trooper who was "upset and emotional" complaining of being "ostracised" by his patrol after his weapon jammed on the battlefield.

The court has previously heard that solider, Person 1, forgot oil for his machine gun on the mission.

"I'd never worked with the Australian SAS before and I was shocked they weren't a collegiate team," Person 69 told the court.

"I had worked with other special forces and they seemed to help people who were making mistakes."

The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, will resume on Tuesday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/ben-roberts-smith-trial-hears-from-army-officer/100848750

#15640446 at 2022-02-16 09:30:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15600712
Ben Roberts-Smith trial: soldier tells court at least two men pulled from tunnel in Afghanistan compound

Events at the compound on 12 April, 2009 have emerged as central to the defamation trial brought by Roberts-Smith

Ben Doherty - 16 Feb 2022

A serving SAS soldier has told a court that at least two men were pulled from a tunnel inside a compound being raided by Australian SAS troops during a 2009 clearance operation in Afghanistan, a mission that has since become a key element of the defamation trial brought by Ben Roberts-Smith.

Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ?reports he alleges are defamatory and portray him as committing war crimes, including murder. The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.

Anonymised before the federal court as Person 42, the Warrant Officer Class 2 and veteran of more than two decades' military service appeared in court as a witness for the Nine newspapers' defence.

Person 42 told the court he and other soldiers discovered the hidden tunnel during the raid on a compound called Whiskey 108. The soldiers called out in Pashto for anyone hiding inside to come out.

"They came out unarmed, they came out freely, they came out relatively quickly once we gave them the commands," he said.

Person 42 said he took custody of one of the men and patted him down to ensure he was unarmed before passing him to the control of another soldier. He did not see the man again.

The events at Whiskey 108 on 12 April 2009 - and the presence or otherwise of men in the tunnel - have emerged as central to the allegations made against Roberts-Smith in the newspapers' defence of the defamation claim. Roberts-Smith is a Victoria Cross winner and one of Australia's most decorated soldiers.

Roberts-Smith has been accused in the course of the newspapers' defence of ordering the execution an elderly Afghan man and murdering another man who had a prosthetic leg, both of whom had been taken from the tunnel in the compound. Roberts-Smith denies the allegations and says there was no one discovered in the tunnel.

Two other soldiers have previously given evidence in the trial on behalf of the newspapers about the alleged executions of the two men at Whiskey 108.

One soldier, Person 41, told the court Roberts-Smith and another soldier borrowed his suppressor which was then used in the execution of the elderly man. Person 41 also said he later saw Roberts-Smith "frogmarch" the man with a prosthetic leg outside a village compound, throw him to the ground and machine-gun him to death.

Another soldier, Person 14, said he saw an Australian soldier carrying a distinctive weapon, a Minimi machine gun, throw a human-shaped object to the ground and fire a burst of bullets into it. He said he later saw Roberts-Smith carrying a Minimi during that mission.

Roberts-Smith has consistently denied those versions of events, describing them as "completely false". In his evidence last year, he said he never ordered an elderly man shot, and says he killed the man with a prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108 because the man was a legitimate target, armed and running away, and was killed in accordance with troops' rules of engagement.

He said no people were taken out of the tunnel in the compound.

"There were no people in the tunnel at Whiskey 108," he told the court.

Whiskey 108 was a compound in the village of Kakarak, known as an insurgent stronghold, on the western side of the Dorafshan River in Uruzgan province and near an allied forward operating base.

In court on Wednesday, Person 42 said Whiskey 108 had been bombed by allied aircraft ahead of the Australian troops' mission to 'clear' the compound on 12 April 2009, checking for insurgents, weapons, and bomb-making materials.

They found some weapons, ammunition and grenades, but "there were no enemy combatants found as part of the assault", he said.

Shown pictures of the bodies of the men allegedly killed during the raid on Whiskey 108, Person 42 said he was unable to positively identify them.

Under cross-examination, he said Australian troops discovered the tunnel after being alerted to it by women, and possibly children, who were in the compound.

Arthur Moses SC, acting for Roberts-Smith, put it to Person 42 that his evidence was not true "because you weren't there".

"That is not true," the soldier replied.

The trial before Justice Anthony Besanko continues.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/16/ben-roberts-smith-trial-soldier-tells-court-at-least-two-men-pulled-from-tunnel-in-afghanistan-compound

#13984690 at 2021-06-26 01:07:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

>>13848125
There are two versions of the facts at Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation trial. Neither is kind to the SAS

Nick Grimm - 26 June 2021

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Ben Roberts-Smith is a hard bloke to miss.

I almost barrelled into the two-metre-plus former soldier on Sydney's Macquarie Street as I rushed to buy a coffee.

We danced that familiar shuffle performed by thousands of city-street pedestrians every day as our brains calculated the best odds of shifting either left or right to avoid collision. Australia's most decorated soldier smiled and with a polite "excuse me", we each continued on our solitary way.

Me to that coffee shop. Him to Courtroom 18D of the Australian Federal Court in Sydney to face another day in the witness box at his headline-grabbing defamation proceedings where at one point he was asked how he felt people viewed him.

"I walk down the street and people will look at me," he told the court through tears.

"The first thing I think of is that they think I hit a woman."

But the allegation he punched his lover in the face after a day of heavy drinking isn't his only source of torment. Killing teenaged insurgents is another.

"I saw things in Afghanistan and I did things in Afghanistan like having to engage adolescents that I'm not proud of and I live with that ... I accept that and that is a trauma I've lived with."

Mr Roberts-Smith has brought the defamation proceedings in a bid to clear his name of the slew of allegations in newspaper articles that he says labelled him as a war criminal, a bully and a domestic violence offender.

The man heaped with honour and distinctions for his war service insists he was immediately identifiable as the soldier dubbed "Leonidas" in the stories, thanks to his family connections in the military, distinctive tattoos and his towering height.

"I've had to watch my family's good name dragged through the mud for three years," he told the court.

But the case is also seeing the good name of Australia's military get dragged through the muck.

Both legal teams have presented unflattering pictures of SAS

Legal counsel acting for the defendants, Nine Entertainment, Nicholas Owens has told the court it will be presented with two diametrically opposed versions of events that unfolded during Australia's involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

But regardless of which side succeeds in this case, both legal teams have presented distinctly unflattering pictures of the Australian Army's elite SAS regiment, certain to tarnish the image of a professional, highly disciplined and drilled fighting force.

Nine will argue that war criminals served within its ranks, men who murdered or were complicit in the murder of unarmed prisoners. And while Mr Roberts-Smith vehemently denies being a war criminal or a witness to war crimes, he himself describes a military force wracked by "corrosive jealousy" and infighting, bitter resentments and often prone to displays of outright incompetence on the battlefield.

It stands in stark contrast to the SAS's long-held image as the best of the best.

In his 2006 book The Partnership: The Inside Story of US-Australian Alliance Under Howard and Bush, Greg Sheridan gave this description of the regiment:

"The SAS is the cream of the Australian military ... as good as any special forces formation in the world."

The author goes on to quote former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage.

"The Australian SAS are shit-hot, and our people love to work with them," he said.

(continued)

#13929646 at 2021-06-18 08:37:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

>>13929643

2/2

The newspapers allege the practice of "blooding" new soldiers - essentially an experienced senior soldier ordering a new subordinate to kill an unarmed person - occurred among Australian SAS soldiers in Afghanistan.

"'Blooding' refers to initiating a person in the practice of killing, or giving them the taste for killing," the newspapers' defence states.

Roberts-Smith has told this trial he never heard the phrase 'blooding the rookie' "until a few years ago when it was being bandied around". He said he had never engaged in, nor seen, the practice.

Hastie was an SAS captain who served in the Australian defence force between 2003 and 2015. He served two tours of Afghanistan, and was trained by Roberts-Smith on an SAS officer's training course in 2010.

One of 21 former and serving SAS soldiers expected to give evidence for the defence in the trial, Hastie has written previously about being troubled by a "warrior culture" within the SAS regiment.

"The warrior ethos I sometimes saw was about power, ego and self-adulation. It worshipped war itself. It was the opposite of the humility that I expected to find at SASR (Special Air Services Regiment)."

Hastie has said he supported the inquiry conducted by Justice Paul Brereton, the inspector general of the ADF, into allegations of war crimes.

"When wrong is done, we must hold ourselves to account," he wrote.

The Guardian has put questions to Hastie but has not received a response.

Roberts-Smith, one of the most decorated soldiers in Australian military history, is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ­reports published in 2018. He alleges the reports are defamatory because they portray him as someone who "broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement" and committed war crimes, including murder.

The 42-year-old has consistently denied the allegations, saying they are "false", "baseless" and "completely without any foundation in truth". The newspapers are defending their reporting as true.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/18/mp-andrew-hastie-set-to-testify-on-allegedly-blooded-rookie-soldier-in-ben-roberts-smith-case

https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/ben-roberts-smith

https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/ben-roberts-smith/Respondents-Witness-List.pdf

#11867646 at 2020-12-02 06:17:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 - THE SILENT WAR CONTINUES Edition

Chinese artist behind doctored image of Australian soldier says he's ready to make more

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The Chinese artist behind a doctored image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child has taunted the Australian Prime Minister, saying that he would make another artwork in response to being "scolded".

The image - created to criticise Australia over the damning Brereton war crimes inquiry - was posted on Twitter by China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison labelled the post "repugnant", demanding it be removed and Beijing issue an apology.

Fu Yu - the political computer graphic artist behind the image, who is also known online as Qilin - responded to Mr Morrison's reactions in a video shared by Chinese media on Weibo.

"I get scolded by this Australian person called Morrison, and he demands my apology," said Mr Fu, who in the video identifies as also the owner of Beijing Wuhe Culture and Creativity Company.

"I feel sympathetic for him and fully understand Morrison's feelings right now.

"But I would advise Morrison to face reality, and put his attention and effort on his domestic affairs."

The Brereton investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Australian SAS forces found there was "credible information" to suggest they had murdered at least 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.

Mr Fu has called himself a "wolf-warrior artist", echoing China's aggressive diplomacy style in recent years.

His posts on Monday received over 1 million views by over 700,000 followers on Weibo.

Mr Fu urged Mr Morrison to "make sure his Government's military force becomes more disciplined to avoid any similar international tragedy", and described his work as an "effort to protect mankind".

"He should put less effort on pressuring and condemning a fact-based artwork and an artist who is ordinary and from a foreign country," he said.

"If I have energy tonight, I can make another artwork as my response."

The ABC has approached Mr Fu for comment.

What we know about the image

Mr Fu created the controversial computer graphic on the evening of November 22, according to China's state-owned media Global Times.

He said he had a sense of "fury and trembling" after reading news articles about Australian soldiers' "brutal killing of 39 civilians" in Afghanistan, including an unsubstantiated account that described how "soldiers cut the throat of two 14-year-old Afghan teenagers with knives".

The rumoured death of the two boys, allegedly suspected of being Taliban sympathisers, was not substantiated in the findings of the four-year-long Brereton inquiry.

"I created this CG illustration based on my anger and shuddering. The artwork was simply created out of a sense of humanitarianism," Mr Fu wrote for Global Times.

Mr Fu said he used an Australian flag to cover some bodies of the Afghanistan civilians behind the soldier, which contrasted with the little sheep in the boy's arms.

"What I have produced looks like an absurd scene, but it is something that really happened somewhere in this world," he said.

"I hope that more people will see this painting and pay attention to this real tragedy."

(continued)

#11689850 at 2020-11-18 05:25:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 - THE SILENT WAR CONTINUES Edition

>>11689835

4/5

Speaking on camera, fully identified, was risky. SAS members don't speak out. But Chapman was haunted by what he'd seen - the execution of a bound prisoner, the killing of another Afghan who'd had his hands in the air, a wounded farmer taken away by an SAS soldier and later found beaten to death.

As one senior officer in Defence would later tell me, the program "rocked" the military. Finally, the "rumours" of war crimes had a visual focal point. It was a young, unarmed Afghan cowering on the ground in a wheatfield holding nothing but a set of red prayer beads, an Australian SAS operator looming above him asking for permission to kill. And the soldier (as well as others accused of crimes in the program) was still in the ADF. This potential murder was not on the radar of the IGADF until Four Corners unearthed the video.

'EVERYONE KNEW'

"They'll throw us under the bus, wait and see," a former SAS operator told me.

Like many in his patrol, he had witnessed terrible crimes in Afghanistan. Crimes committed by his comrades.

The former operator had watched Killing Field and wasn't surprised by what the footage showed. He was more surprised that it had got out. The SAS brotherhood was starting to fracture.

"The leadership knew. This went beyond the patrols. This was known up the chain," he told me.

So, did the leadership really know what was happening out in the compounds, in the nomadic camps, and along the green belts of Afghanistan? Did it know that some of its soldiers - again, a small minority - had committed war crimes?

The common wisdom is that a 2016 report by Canberra-based sociologist Samantha Crompvoets first raised red flags about the conduct of Australian special forces in Afghanistan. Based on interviews with special forces soldiers and Defence Force personnel, it found our elite troops may have used "unsanctioned and illegal application of violence on operations" that included a "disregard for human life and dignity". But Crompvoets was also told of the manipulation of target lists, cover-ups, unlawful killings, blood lust, competition killing, and the killing of so-called squirters - people suspected of being combatants, who ran away from special forces patrols.

The report was commissioned by Special Operations Commander Jeff Sengelman, who had grown concerned about the impact years of high-intensity deployments were having on the SAS and commandos. Sengelman was hearing stories that Crompvoets' report would confirm.

In 2018, Nine Newspapers reported that Major General Sengelman had briefed Chief of Defence Angus Campbell about his concerns two years earlier. He had written that many of the "issues" from Afghanistan that had come to light could "be linked back to weak leadership and a lack of accountability".

Sengelman's concerns, and the subsequent Crompvoets report, would spark the long-running IGADF inquiry.

But some say the senior leadership of special forces knew for years about many allegations of unlawful behaviour. Last month, I received an email from a former SAS patrol commander who witnessed the killing of two Afghans, shootings he said clearly breached the Rules of Engagement. The incident was reported all the way up the special forces chain of command but dismissed. The reason? The former patrol commander says he was told by a senior officer that "the regiment is bigger than an individual and the integrity of the regiment must come first ... he informed me the regiment will handle this internally."

Case closed.

The former SAS patrol commander had one message for me about alleged war crimes. "EVERYONE KNEW," he wrote.

Just weeks after Four Corners aired Killing Field, the commander of Australia's special forces, Adam Findlay, called a meeting of dozens of SAS soldiers at their barracks in Perth. According to a detailed report by Nine Newspapers, he blamed the war crimes on "one common cause".

"It is poor leadership. In fact, it is poor moral leadership."

Conflicts of interest?

The IGADF inquiry report will go to the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Angus Campbell. In 2011, he was the commander of Joint Task Forces 633 , which was responsible for all forces in the Middle East, including Afghanistan. Campbell is also a former SAS troop and squadron commander.

The Chief of the Army, Rick Burr, is another with a special forces background, having been the commander of the SAS and the head of a contingent of special forces in Afghanistan in 2008.

(continued)

#11099672 at 2020-10-16 07:03:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 - INFORMATION WARFARE Edition

Australian Defence Force orders ban on destruction of evidence from Afghanistan war, as inquiry into alleged war crimes nears end

The Australian Defence Force has ordered a halt on the destruction of any records relating to Australia's two-decade-long war in Afghanistan, more than four years after an inquiry commenced into allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces.

The ABC has obtained an internal Defence bulletin sent last week that places an embargo on the shredding of any records relating to ADF operations in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2015.

The bulletin states the embargo is at the direction of the "Afghanistan Inquiry Task Force".

When asked about the nature of the task force, the existence of which has not been disclosed before now, Defence responded:

"The Afghanistan Inquiry Task Force is a small temporary team established within the Australian Defence Force Headquarters. Its primary role is to prepare Defence to receive and respond to the IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry report."

The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has been conducting a wide-ranging but highly secretive inquiry into allegations that Australian special forces committed war crimes - including the murder of civilians - in Afghanistan since early 2016.

The report, compiled by NSW Supreme Court judge and Army Reserve Major General Paul Brereton, is expected to be completed before the end of the year and is widely expected to shine a light on a number of allegedly unlawful killings by Australian SAS troopers and commandos.

Over the last three years, the ABC has reported on a number of incidents in which Australian special forces soldiers allegedly committed war crimes by killing unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.

Some incidents have already been referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for investigation and possible prosecution.

After a Four Corners program aired in March showed the killing of an unarmed Afghan man by an SAS soldier, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds quickly referred the incident to the AFP and the soldier was suspended from duty.

Defence records relating to those incidents would potentially be crucial for any police investigation into alleged war crimes.

Those materials could include helmet-cam vision taken on operations, photographs, patrol reports, inquiry reports, drone vision and post-operation debriefs.

When the ABC asked Defence why it had waited four years since the commencement of the IGADF inquiry before ordering a halt to any disposal of relevant records, it replied that the embargo was standard procedure.

"In accordance with these requirements, key operational records relating to planning and conduct become eligible for destruction after 20 years," a Defence spokesperson said.

"As we approach 20 years since Australia commenced operations in Afghanistan, it is the appropriate time to implement an embargo to ensure these records are preserved.

"As required, Defence will apply an embargo to similar operational activities when they approach record management milestones."

The Australian Federal Police declined to comment, referring the ABC to the Defence Department.

The ABC has also learned that the IGADF inquiry has subpoenaed records from the Australian War Memorial (AWM) as part of its investigation into alleged war crimes.

When asked whether it would comment on the subpoena, the war memorial said: "It is not the Australian War Memorial's place to discuss matters before the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force."

Director for the Australian Centre for International Justice, Rawan Arraf, said the timing of the embargo on the destruction of records was concerning.

"It really does raise serious questions about whether the Defence Department has had the proper processes in place; whether it has been complying with its regulations and international guidelines on record keeping and data protection, especially where it's relevant to investigating any potential violations of international humanitarian law or the laws of armed conflict."

Ms Arraf said it was crucial that any material that could be used in potential future trials arising from the inquiry is preserved.

"It's relevant to ensuring that the records of incidents are properly recorded and protected, so that if any of these incidents actually reveal the commission of crimes, the evidence is properly stored and protected to be used in criminal prosecutions, so that it can withstand the rules and procedure of evidence in trials," she said.

"If it hasn't been properly protected, that might impact on future prosecutions, or whether there are any criminal proceedings at all if there is an absence of records, meaning impunity is further entrenched."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-16/adf-issues-embargo-on-destruction-of-afghan-war-evidence/12769318

#10512938 at 2020-09-03 08:40:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition

>>10209217
>>10491722
Australian special forces Instagram account mocks war crime allegations, calls to 'Make Diggers Violent Again'

1/3

Current and former Australian special forces soldiers are operating an Instagram account mocking allegations of war crimes allegedly committed by their comrades in Afghanistan.

The public Instagram account, titled State Sanctioned Violence, is also selling merchandise, including bumper stickers reading "Make Diggers Violent Again" and "Taliban Tears", and T-shirts with "High Velocity Atrocities" emblazoned on them.

The account, which has amassed thousands of followers, is littered with crude memes and jokes that make light of killings that occurred during combat.

The ABC has been told that the account is operated mainly by one former and one serving special forces soldier. Those men have not responded to questions from ABC Investigations. Other content, such as photographs, is supplied by former and serving special forces.

The account states it is operated by: "A group of current & former Aussie Soldiers keeping the legacy of the boys we lost alive."

One video, which includes a mock advisory warning normally used on ABC broadcasts, features a mash-up of aerial footage of people being killed by missiles, gun fire and drone strikes, while rap music plays in the background.

Another photo features text reading: "I've got two command priorities this year: proxy wars and smashing whores."

Some posts trivialise an ABC Four Corners story from earlier this year, which showed footage of an Australian SAS trooper allegedly murdering an unarmed Afghan in a field, while others joke about killing Afghan children, making lampshades out of the skins of dead Taliban and hacking off the ears of village elders.

Another video compilation of footage apparently taken from an Australian special forces soldier's helmet cam is captioned: "Three people can keep a secret but only when two of them are dead."

Merchandise from the State Sanctioned Violence page is sold through a separate online shop, which requires a password for entry.

The account has posted photos of the 'Make Diggers Violent Again' stickers seemingly taken at Canberra's Royal Military College in Duntroon, as well as next to a handgun and bullets and Donald Trump paraphernalia.

The admins of the State Sanctioned Violence account have also hinted at a forthcoming podcast.

Account mocks MP Hastie

The ABC has been told that the Instagram account, which has been pulled down and put back up a number of times, has caused significant concern within the upper echelons of the Australian Defence Force because of its tone and content.

The account has laid bare a growing rift between the rank and file of Australia's special forces and the chain of command, ahead of an inquiry report into alleged war crimes committed by Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan.

In a statement, Defence initially said it knew about the State Sanctioned Violence account but said it was "not aware of any connection" between serving Australian Defence Force personnel and the content being posted on the account.

When the ABC provided the name of the serving soldier allegedly linked to the account, Defence responded:

"If Defence personnel are identified as having posted inappropriate material, they will be investigated and held accountable for contravening Defence policy."

The Instagram account largely comprises biographies of dead and living Australian servicemen who served overseas in various wars, but predominantly special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan. The biographies are laced with twisted humour and jokes about killing Afghans.

One post pokes fun at an incident in which an SAS trooper severed the hands of dead Taliban in order to take them back to base for identification. The post mocks federal Liberal MP and former SAS officer Andrew Hastie, who was in command when the incident occurred and immediately reported it up the chain of command.

"'Many hands make light work' - Andrew Hastie MP," the post reads.

Another post mocks former Army Major General John Cantwell, who has spoken openly about his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and his horror at witnessing Coalition troops burying Iraqi soldiers alive when he was on exchange with the British Army in the first Gulf War.

The account gives a "shout out" to a supposed mole who is feeding its creators information from within the ADF's "social media incident team".

(continued)

#10099722 at 2020-07-28 09:59:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition

#8 - Part 13
>>9955901, >>9955905 'Palace letters' between Sir John Kerr, Queen released, revealing information about Gough Whitlam and 1975 constitutional crisis
>>9955905 >>9997288 The Kerr Palace Letters exchanged between Governor-General Sir John Kerr and Buckingham Palace during Kerr's time in office
>>9955965 Witnesses say Australian SAS soldiers were involved in mass shooting of unarmed Afghan civilians
>>9956031 Designer of a popular children's app is accused of living a secret double life as a Peeping Tom paedophile
>>9956045 Grandfather, 52, is jailed after buying a toy from Kmart and converting it into a child sex doll
>>9966573, >>9966578, >>9966587 The Forgotten Coup Against 'The Most Loyal Ally' - Gough Whitlam, the Dismissal and the secret CIA presence in Australia
>>9966632 Paedophile's 'manifestly inadequate' jail sentence for Adelaide toilet block attack to be appealed
>>9970244 'DEEPLY DISTURBING' Lifelike child sex dolls based on girls & toddlers that boast they're 100% anatomically correct are on sale in Australia
>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: Alibaba.com sells child Sex Dolls. This one described as 148cm 4ft9" Dividable Skeleton Small Breast Young Girl Loli
>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: This #AlibabaChildSexDoll is the size of a 3 or 4 year old child…a replica of a little girl. Description "3 holes for man sex."

>>9976661 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba exposed for trade in child and baby sex abuse dolls
>>9976722 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba Group: Stop selling child sex abuse dolls
>>9976767, >>9976772 Why child sex dolls will not prevent child sexual abuse
>>9977021 Paedophile deported from Australia 'used UK as hunting ground'
>>9980434 Video: THINK YOU'RE NOT LENDING MONEY TO INSOLVENT BANKS? THINK AGAIN. | John Adams
>>9985681 Corporate watchdog ASIC accuses Clive Palmer of $12.5m fraud
>>9993850 Five Eyes to the fore: Australia takes a seat at global big table
>>9996093 Video: Keeping your kids safe online - AFP Commander ACCCE, Child Protection Operations and Human Trafficking Operations Jamie Strauss talks to Sunrise
>>9996156 Video: Florida Police Capture Runaway Kangaroo found hopping down the street - NowThis News
>>9996408 Rainbow Fairy Tweet: #QAnon sprayed on a water tank in Queensland, Australia

>>9997181 Q Post #4589 - https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/epstein-was-pinocchio-and-ghislaine-was-gepetto-accuser/
>>9997181 Q Post #4565 - Possible Epstein was a puppet [not the main person(s) of interest]? Financed by who or what [F] entities?
>>9997181 Epstein was 'Pinocchio' with 'Gepetto' Ghislaine pulling the strings, accuser says
>>9997264 Q Post #4588 - Do not give up the citizen investigation. Public awareness important [bypass of controlled [approved] topics].
>>9997264 QAnon John Tweet: You will NEVER look at your childhood the same again... #DumpDisney #ThesePeopleAreSick #QAnon
>>10002856 - Q Post #4590 - "This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019." At what point does it become painfully obvious?
>>10002856 Kevin Spacey accuser dies by suicide day after actor posts 'kill them with kindness' video (2019)
>>10002856 Video: KTWK - Kevin Spacey, Published on 24 Dec 2019
>>10018713 Video: TREASURY-ISLAND What Includes Australia
>>10019403 Q Post #4603 - ren·e·gade, a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.

>>10019692 Paedophile priest Vincent Ryan to walk free from jail tomorrow after serving less than half of a three-year sentence
>>10019736 China accuses Australia of becoming a 'US puppet' and warns Scott Morrison will be 'shooting himself in the foot' if he bans TikTok
>>10030258 Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton's first move gives anti-terror boss wider role in crime fight
>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: Pointed remarks from US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr
>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr confirms he'll join Foreign Minister and Defence Minister for #AUSMIN talks
>>10034434 Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group Drilling with Australian, Japanese Ships in Philippine Sea
>>10041810 'We're going to need the Australians': Pompeo lays out contest with China
>>10041958 Sydney Black Lives Matter protest organisers say rally will proceed despite PM and premier's condemnation
>>10042003 Twitter to suspend conspiracy theory group QAnon accounts
>>10042071 Facebook encryption is contributing to child torture: Australian Federal Police

#10099664 at 2020-07-28 09:43:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition

#8 - Part 13
>>9955901, >>9955905 'Palace letters' between Sir John Kerr, Queen released, revealing information about Gough Whitlam and 1975 constitutional crisis
>>9955905 >>9997288 The Kerr Palace Letters exchanged between Governor-General Sir John Kerr and Buckingham Palace during Kerr's time in office
>>9955965 Witnesses say Australian SAS soldiers were involved in mass shooting of unarmed Afghan civilians
>>9956031 Designer of a popular children's app is accused of living a secret double life as a Peeping Tom paedophile
>>9956045 Grandfather, 52, is jailed after buying a toy from Kmart and converting it into a child sex doll
>>9966573, >>9966578, >>9966587 The Forgotten Coup Against 'The Most Loyal Ally' - Gough Whitlam, the Dismissal and the secret CIA presence in Australia
>>9966632 Paedophile's 'manifestly inadequate' jail sentence for Adelaide toilet block attack to be appealed
>>9970244 'DEEPLY DISTURBING' Lifelike child sex dolls based on girls & toddlers that boast they're 100% anatomically correct are on sale in Australia
>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: Alibaba.com sells child Sex Dolls. This one described as 148cm 4ft9" Dividable Skeleton Small Breast Young Girl Loli
>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: This #AlibabaChildSexDoll is the size of a 3 or 4 year old child…a replica of a little girl. Description "3 holes for man sex."

>>9976661 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba exposed for trade in child and baby sex abuse dolls
>>9976722 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba Group: Stop selling child sex abuse dolls
>>9976767, >>9976772 Why child sex dolls will not prevent child sexual abuse
>>9977021 Paedophile deported from Australia 'used UK as hunting ground'
>>9980434 Video: THINK YOU'RE NOT LENDING MONEY TO INSOLVENT BANKS? THINK AGAIN. | John Adams
>>9985681 Corporate watchdog ASIC accuses Clive Palmer of $12.5m fraud
>>9993850 Five Eyes to the fore: Australia takes a seat at global big table
>>9996093 Video: Keeping your kids safe online - AFP Commander ACCCE, Child Protection Operations and Human Trafficking Operations Jamie Strauss talks to Sunrise
>>9996156 Video: Florida Police Capture Runaway Kangaroo found hopping down the street - NowThis News
>>9996408 Rainbow Fairy Tweet: #QAnon sprayed on a water tank in Queensland, Australia

>>9997181 Q Post #4589 - https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/epstein-was-pinocchio-and-ghislaine-was-gepetto-accuser/
>>9997181 Q Post #4565 - Possible Epstein was a puppet [not the main person(s) of interest]? Financed by who or what [F] entities?
>>9997181 Epstein was 'Pinocchio' with 'Gepetto' Ghislaine pulling the strings, accuser says
>>9997264 Q Post #4588 - Do not give up the citizen investigation. Public awareness important [bypass of controlled [approved] topics].
>>9997264 QAnon John Tweet: You will NEVER look at your childhood the same again... #DumpDisney #ThesePeopleAreSick #QAnon
>>10002856 - Q Post #4590 - "This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019." At what point does it become painfully obvious?
>>10002856 Kevin Spacey accuser dies by suicide day after actor posts 'kill them with kindness' video (2019)
>>10002856 Video: KTWK - Kevin Spacey, Published on 24 Dec 2019
>>10018713 Video: TREASURY-ISLAND What Includes Australia
>>10019403 Q Post #4603 - ren·e·gade, a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.

>>10019692 Paedophile priest Vincent Ryan to walk free from jail tomorrow after serving less than half of a three-year sentence
>>10019736 China accuses Australia of becoming a 'US puppet' and warns Scott Morrison will be 'shooting himself in the foot' if he bans TikTok
>>10030258 Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton's first move gives anti-terror boss wider role in crime fight
>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: Pointed remarks from US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr
>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr confirms he'll join Foreign Minister and Defence Minister for #AUSMIN talks
>>10034434 Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group Drilling with Australian, Japanese Ships in Philippine Sea
>>10041810 'We're going to need the Australians': Pompeo lays out contest with China
>>10041958 Sydney Black Lives Matter protest organisers say rally will proceed despite PM and premier's condemnation
>>10042003 Twitter to suspend conspiracy theory group QAnon accounts
>>10042071 Facebook encryption is contributing to child torture: Australian Federal Police

#9955965 at 2020-07-14 07:57:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition

>>9329305
Witnesses say Australian SAS soldiers were involved in mass shooting of unarmed Afghan civilians

Australian special forces killed up to 10 unarmed Afghan civilians during a 2012 raid in Kandahar Province, ABC Investigations can reveal.

The raid is believed to be the worst one-day death toll uncovered to date of alleged unlawful killings by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Afghan witnesses and Australian sources have told the ABC that the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) operation left a number of Taliban dead.

But both say civilians were also shot during the frenzied raid, including a group of unarmed villagers near a tractor.

Australian sources confirmed a number of civilians were killed that day, but could not determine the precise number, telling the ABC there were up to 10 suspicious killings with another five Taliban dead.

ABC Investigations has obtained a list of names of 11 civilians that the villagers of Sara Aw say were killed in the December 2012 operation led by Zulu 1 and Zulu 2 patrols of the SAS.

The SAS was accompanied by Afghan special forces known as the Wakunish.

"It was 11:00am, three [helicopters] landed," said farmer Mohammad Nassim.

"There were three Taliban in nomad houses [near the village]. They resisted and were killed. But then they killed other people - civilians.

"Civilians were terrified when the shooting started, because they were mass shooting people," he said.

Villager Rahmatullah confirmed that three Taliban were hiding in a nearby nomad hut.

"But no-one [from the village] knew they were there," he said.

"They started resisting [the soldiers], then people learnt that they were killed. The rest of [those killed] were all civilians. One was Mohammad Azam, my brother."

Villagers killed while transporting onions

ABC Investigations has been told by sources that the Taliban fighters were killed by the Zulu 2 patrol and weapons were recovered.

But a number of civilians were then killed near a tractor in what appears to be a mass shooting.

This account is backed by villagers interviewed separately by an Afghan journalist engaged by ABC Investigations who travelled to Sara Aw.

Abdul Qadus says his brother Abdul Salim was driving the tractor when he was shot dead.

"At the time he was carrying a load of onions, he was taking them to the city. There were some other people with him as well," Abdul Qadus said.

"The two other people who were near the Taliban in the area, I saw them being shot and killed and they didn't have anything with them.

"Another one was my cousin who was sitting and packing onions when they shot and killed him there."

'They were shooting people intentionally'

Rahmatullah was irrigating his field when the Australians jumped off the helicopters and engaged the Taliban.

"First, when the helicopters landed, they started with the Taliban. They also shot other people who were there as well. The tractor moved from the area because they were scared."

He says the Australians came after them.

"[They] shot them at the tractor. They were shooting people intentionally. They were mass shooting," Rahmatullah said.

"Then some people busy with irrigation were shot, some were shot near the onions. Some people went in the tractor and they were shot in the tractor," Mohammad Nassim said.

ABC Investigations understands the Zulu 1 patrol was involved in the shooting at the tractor where at least five Afghans were killed and that some members of the SAS patrol were unhappy about what happened.

There were no weapons found on the victims after the shooting.

Abdul Qadus was wounded in the raid and later evacuated by the Australians.

"When I got injured, they took me to the Afghan National Army hospital at Kandahar airbase," he said.

"I was there two days and nights."

The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has spent the past four years investigating rumours and allegations of war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

Investigators are looking into more than 55 separate incidents of alleged breaches of the rules of war between 2005 and 2016.

More than 330 people have so far given evidence to the inquiry.

The IGADF report is expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

When contacted for a response to this story, an Australian Defence Force spokesperson said: "It is not appropriate for Defence to comment on matters that may or may not be the subject of the Afghanistan Inquiry."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-14/Australian-special-forces-killed-unarmed-civilians-in-kandahar/12441974

#9329305 at 2020-05-27 09:30:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition

>>9235831
Fellow soldiers say the SAS operative filmed shooting an unarmed man killed another civilian

An Australian SAS operator is under investigation for killing an Afghan man his comrades say was an unarmed and intellectually disabled civilian, the ABC can reveal.

The 2012 shooting is known as "the village idiot killing" among the special forces.

The ABC can also reveal the SAS soldier under investigation for this killing is the same man shown shooting dead a different unarmed Afghan man in video footage aired by Four Corners earlier this year.

Known as "Soldier C", he was stood down after the program and is now under investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for both of the killings.

ABC Investigations has spoken to two SAS patrol members, witnesses to the newly uncovered killing, who say the disabled man was shot in the back of the head as he was trying to "limp" away.

"Choppers have landed, this guy's ran. Fair enough. We were pretty intimidating," said one patrol member.

"He was obviously intellectually disabled. [Soldier C's] shot this f***er through the back of the head. And I remember it so clearly because his brain literally hit the ground before he did. It was just so unnecessary."

Another patrol member says he saw Soldier C raise his gun to get what he thought was a closer look at the "unarmed" Afghan man through the sight of his weapon.

"But being that close, I thought that it was unusual that he was raising his weapon, and then he let two shots off," said the patrol member.

"His head exploded. There was no need for what happened. No need whatsoever. In my book that was war crimes - murder."

ABC Investigations has tracked down the dead man's family and identified the victim as Ziauddin, a farmer in his early 20s from the Paryan Nawa region of Kandahar Province.

"Ziauddin had a mental illness ... because two years ago the Taliban beat him," said his relative Kalimulla, who spoke to an Afghan journalist engaged by the ABC.

"Because of those beatings, he developed a mental problem."

Kalimulla says Ziauddin was unarmed when he was killed by the Australian patrol.

"There was a raid. [Helicopters] landed at about 11:00. He was about 80 to 100 metres away from where [they] landed. As [they] landed, he came towards home, he wanted to come home. He walked a distance but those people shot him," Kalimulla said.

"He was shot here around the back of his head ... the bullet had pierced through his skull and his brains were spread away from his skull."

ABC Investigations can also reveal the so-called "village idiot killing" is being investigated by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF).

The IGADF is investigating more than 55 separate incidents of alleged breaches of the rules of war in Afghanistan by Australian special forces between 2005 and 2016.

The ABC understands the IGADF is in the final stages of compiling its report.

ABC Investigations has confirmed that the disabled Afghan man was shot and killed on March 28, 2012.

The ABC put a series of questions to Defence about the killing.

In response, Defence said it was not appropriate to comment "on matters that may or may not be the subject of the [IGADF's] Afghanistan Inquiry".

'That's clearly covering something up'

After the killing, another member of the patrol was then ordered to dress the dead man in a "battle bra" chest rig containing assault rifle magazines, the soldiers allege.

"The reason for that is that enables him to be identified as a combatant and you can engage him using lethal force," said one of the patrol members who spoke to the ABC.

A scan of the man's fingerprints and irises confirmed that the man was not matched to anyone on the special forces target list.

Back at their base in Tarin Kowt after the raid, the patrol was told during a debriefing that the dead man should be regarded as a "high-value target" and a legitimate kill.

But the two patrol members who spoke to ABC Investigations say this was an attempt to cover up the killing of an unarmed civilian.

"I knew that was a lie. Everyone there knew that was a lie," said one of the patrol members.

"That's clearly covering something up. He was not a high-value target at all. He was a disabled ... local national, unarmed non-combatant [in his] early twenties."

(continued)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-27/soldiers-say-they-saw-SAS-operative-killing-another-civilian/12277976

#9062520 at 2020-05-07 09:27:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition

#7 - Part 11
>>8398280 Australian Signals Directorate - Leadership - Principal Deputy Director-General Lieutenant General John Frewen DSC AM
>>8398369 Judge Napolitano says Trump should veto FISA bill: Nothing but 'cosmetic' reforms
>>8398457 Parole denied for Hey Dad! sex predator Robert Hughes
>>8407234 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: A timely meeting with friend @SecPompeo to discuss #COVID19, infrastructure…
>>8408824 Peripatetic Katherine Keating pops up at Palm Beach
>>8419490 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Tackling orphanage trafficking needs us to work together in Australia & globally
>>8419490 Modern Day Slavery, Orphanage Tourism and the Modern Slavery Act 2018
>>8434230 Nicole Kidman and family 'relocating back to Australia to be closer to mother Janelle'
>>8434619 NSW south coast man charged with terrorism offences
>>8437036 Man arrested after allegedly planning terror attack on electrical substation

>>8438540 Fraser Anning declared bankrupt by courts on 'egging' anniversary
>>8459350 High Court overturns SA pedophile sentence
>>8459467 Video: Killing Field: Explosive new allegations of Australian special forces war crimes | Four Corners
>>8459498 Footage Shows Australian Special Forces Shoot And Kill Unarmed Man In Afghanistan
>>8459638 Wikileaks Tweet: Newly obtained video by ABC's @4corners shows alleged execution of unarmed Afghan by Australian SAS soldier
>>8468637 Australian "Hey Dad" Actor Robert Hughes - Timeline of allegations of sexual misconduct, arrest, and conviction
>>8472720 Ghislaine Maxwell, citing death threats and extensive legal fees, sues Jeffrey Epstein's estate
>>8486065 Evil 8 paedophile Alfred Impicciatore's appeal dismissed over notorious WA child abuse case
>>8486065 The horrors of the 'Evil 8' and how a young girl was preyed upon by her father, strangers (2017)
>>8486290 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Media Releases - Statements on Four Corners report

>>8494961 Second NSW South Coast man charged with a terrorism offence
>>8528467 Third man charged following operational activity on the NSW South Coast
>>8542385 Q Post #3898 - The key that opens all doors. The 'Start'. (Links to this Daily Caller article >>8375168)
>>8543343 War hero Ben Roberts-Smith interviewed by police over alleged killing
>>8543613 Jill, @1Swinging_Voter Tweet: ABC smartarse Andrew Probyn hogging the press conference just got owned by the Prime Minister
>>8543613 Jill, @1Swinging_Voter Tweet: We need to see more of this from the Prime Minister!! Don't dance to the media tune!
>>8543613 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ABC journalist Andrew Probyn - "You don't run the Press Conference, OK?"
>>8543726 Australian Secret Intelligence Service - Black Ops Arm Of The Aus Deep State?
>>8557079 Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy suddenly stands down from her high-powered job 'for personal reasons'
>>8568249 Christchurch mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant changes plea to guilty, to be sentenced for 51 murders

>>8568301 Australian paedophile fights to stop police alerting Indonesia to convictions
>>8568600 Chinese government prepares to charge Australian academic
>>8569098 Video: Trump 'came to appreciate' Turnbull standing up for Australia
>>8569161 Q Posts #479, 908 and 910 - What phone call between POTUS and X/AUS leaked? Why that specific conversation? Focus - why AUS?
>>8569655 The Australian Store Where Everything Sold Is Sent to China
>>8569706 Chinese-backed company's mission to source Australian medical supplies
>>8582388 Australian police crack online child exploitation network
>>8582418 New South Wales woman charged with child exploitation offences
>>8587984 Man hands out $100 to every Person Waiting in Line for Welfare
>>8588025 Police identify 11 alleged victims in case of immigration agent accused of rape

#9062430 at 2020-05-07 08:53:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition

#7 - Part 11
>>8398280 Australian Signals Directorate - Leadership - Principal Deputy Director-General Lieutenant General John Frewen DSC AM
>>8398369 Judge Napolitano says Trump should veto FISA bill: Nothing but 'cosmetic' reforms
>>8398457 Parole denied for Hey Dad! sex predator Robert Hughes
>>8407234 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: A timely meeting with friend @SecPompeo to discuss #COVID19, infrastructure…
>>8408824 Peripatetic Katherine Keating pops up at Palm Beach
>>8419490 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Tackling orphanage trafficking needs us to work together in Australia & globally
>>8419490 Modern Day Slavery, Orphanage Tourism and the Modern Slavery Act 2018
>>8434230 Nicole Kidman and family 'relocating back to Australia to be closer to mother Janelle'
>>8434619 NSW south coast man charged with terrorism offences
>>8437036 Man arrested after allegedly planning terror attack on electrical substation

>>8438540 Fraser Anning declared bankrupt by courts on 'egging' anniversary
>>8459350 High Court overturns SA pedophile sentence
>>8459467 Video: Killing Field: Explosive new allegations of Australian special forces war crimes | Four Corners
>>8459498 Footage Shows Australian Special Forces Shoot And Kill Unarmed Man In Afghanistan
>>8459638 Wikileaks Tweet: Newly obtained video by ABC's @4corners shows alleged execution of unarmed Afghan by Australian SAS soldier
>>8468637 Australian "Hey Dad" Actor Robert Hughes - Timeline of allegations of sexual misconduct, arrest, and conviction
>>8472720 Ghislaine Maxwell, citing death threats and extensive legal fees, sues Jeffrey Epstein's estate
>>8486065 Evil 8 paedophile Alfred Impicciatore's appeal dismissed over notorious WA child abuse case
>>8486065 The horrors of the 'Evil 8' and how a young girl was preyed upon by her father, strangers (2017)
>>8486290 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Media Releases - Statements on Four Corners report

>>8494961 Second NSW South Coast man charged with a terrorism offence
>>8528467 Third man charged following operational activity on the NSW South Coast
>>8542385 Q Post #3898 - The key that opens all doors. The 'Start'. (Links to this Daily Caller article >>8375168)
>>8543343 War hero Ben Roberts-Smith interviewed by police over alleged killing
>>8543613 Jill, @1Swinging_Voter Tweet: ABC smartarse Andrew Probyn hogging the press conference just got owned by the Prime Minister
>>8543613 Jill, @1Swinging_Voter Tweet: We need to see more of this from the Prime Minister!! Don't dance to the media tune!
>>8543613 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ABC journalist Andrew Probyn - "You don't run the Press Conference, OK?"
>>8543726 Australian Secret Intelligence Service - Black Ops Arm Of The Aus Deep State?
>>8557079 Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy suddenly stands down from her high-powered job 'for personal reasons'
>>8568249 Christchurch mosque attacker Brenton Tarrant changes plea to guilty, to be sentenced for 51 murders

>>8568301 Australian paedophile fights to stop police alerting Indonesia to convictions
>>8568600 Chinese government prepares to charge Australian academic
>>8569098 Video: Trump 'came to appreciate' Turnbull standing up for Australia
>>8569161 Q Posts #479, 908 and 910 - What phone call between POTUS and X/AUS leaked? Why that specific conversation? Focus - why AUS?
>>8569655 The Australian Store Where Everything Sold Is Sent to China
>>8569706 Chinese-backed company's mission to source Australian medical supplies
>>8582388 Australian police crack online child exploitation network
>>8582418 New South Wales woman charged with child exploitation offences
>>8587984 Man hands out $100 to every Person Waiting in Line for Welfare
>>8588025 Police identify 11 alleged victims in case of immigration agent accused of rape

#8459638 at 2020-03-18 06:51:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition

Repost from Q Research General #10815

>>8447765 (pb)

Wikileaks

Newly obtained video by ABC's @4corners shows alleged execution of unarmed Afghan by Australian SAS soldier in 2012.

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1239849442435612673

Moar:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-16/video-shows-afghan-man-shot-at-close-range-by-Australian-SAS/12028512