The Brereton report sheds light on the tweet posted by a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry of a digitally altered image depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to a veiled Afghanistan child.But I have not seen any of our mainstream media do the obvious, publish the relevant extracts on alleged killing of Afghan children by Australian soldiers.
On p, 120-121 of the Report , the following references to throat-slitting appear in two paragraphs related to the February 2016 study by Dr Samantha Crompvoets, which helped to initiate the Brereton Inquiry. ‘
‘Squirters’ were in Special forces speak people who ran from compounds when our troops advanced on/attacked them.
- Clearance Operations. Dr Crompvoets was told that, after squirters were ‘dealt’ with, Special Forces would then cordon off a whole village, taking men and boys to guesthouses, which are typically on the edge of a village. There they would be tied up and tortured by Special Forces, sometimes for days. When the Special Forces left, the men and boys would be found dead: shot in the head or blindfolded and with throats slit.
- Cover-ups. A specific incident described to Dr Crompvoets involved an incident where members from the ‘SASR’ were driving along a road and saw two 14-year-old boys whom they decided might be Taliban sympathisers. They stopped, searched the boys and slit their throats. The rest of the Troop then had to ‘clean up the mess’, which involved bagging the bodies and throwing them into a nearby river. Dr Crompvoets says she was told this was not an isolated incident. In this context, Dr Crompvoets says she was told that Special Forces soldiers were committing unsanctioned killing in order to ‘get a name for themselves’ and to join the ‘in’ group.
(No doubt Brereton refers to these incidents in detail but that would be in the 6 redacted volumes.)
Page 103 of the report, referring to the entirely redacted Chapter 2.50 comments:
“what is described in this Chapter is possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia’s military history, and the commanders at troop, squadron and task group level bear moral command responsibility for what happened under their command, regardless of personal fault.”
John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
Comments
28 responses to “Brereton’s comments which gave rise to the Chinese tweet on Australian Afghanistan war crimes”
I don’t think it was a good idea to tweet the photo without making it clear it is an artist’s impression. It’s now simply diverted attention away from the real issue (i.e., war crimes) to something else. Although I do think it’s unworthy of the Australian PM to be so outraged by the tweet, which despite being an artist’s impression, is not misleading, since as I understand it according to Brereton (I haven’t read the report) SAS soldiers did actually slit the throats of Afghan boys.
The Chinese diplomat ought to have been more strategic, as this has allowed Australia to (hypocritically) turn the issue into an attack on China. If I did really want to turn on the screws on Australia, a better strategy would simply have been to question the conclusion of the Brereton report that no senior commander was reasonably culpable. After all, I understand that under international law, commanders can be held responsible for the actions of their subordinates.
How could a grown man do something so horrible to a child? How can Australian commanders have no responsibility for the culture of the SAS soldiers? And what of the possibility that there are other war crimes which have been committed but evidence is not available. Consider that the soldiers apparently tried to cover up their crimes. Does this suggest that other crimes could have been committed?
I’ve long argued that the ADF should only have the role of defending Australia against an actual attack, and not be sent overseas unless it is a peace-keeping mission. It’s too easy for politicians to send soldiers into situations where they are vulnerable to moral failure.
We ought to re-examine Australia’s tendency to be involved in wars overseas. We are blessed to have a continent all to our own. Imagine if we were a nation in the Asian continent, with uncertain borders, and open to infiltration by terrorist groups. Why do we go out our way to make enemies? It’s so stupid!
the image is a digital drawing (using photoshop). It is not “digitally altered image” as there is no image to be altered. Just like a painting is not paint altered pencil sketches. It takes a very emotional mind to not understand this.
“I have a dream….”, a dream that some day Howard, Downer and their various minion accomplices will, before their (and my) dementia sets in, find themselves arraigned in the dock of the ICC or ICJ for their complicity in the initiation of Nuremberg-condemned wars of aggression, notably in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Yes, alright – tell me I’m dream’n.
Just admit it. You committed inexcusable war crimes in a extremely unhumane way in Afganistan.
It’s horrifying those soilders have done and are still doing!
Stop being hypocritic.
You are just a nobody-country, stop making yourself a laughing stock!!
It is well accepted in the West that cartoonists are entitled to exaggerate. If the cartoons had depicted not a babe in arms, but a 14 year old boy having his throat cut, would the outrage from Morrison have been any different? Probably not. Wouldn’t it have been better to have acknowledged the findings of the Brereton report and to point out that Australia does have independent institutions capable of prosecuting these crimes, and is doing so. Morrison’s outrage and demand for an apology give the impression that he disputes the murder of children.
The outrage displayed by our PM and our media is that the “fake photo” was fraudulently doctored. One can understand the anger if one was unaware that the Brereton report alleges Australian soldiers murdered two 14 year old boys, but surely our PM and media are fully aware of the facts.
That being so, surely it is obvious that this was not a fraudulent photo but merely a satirical artist’s illustration based on true events. In fact, had the artist not spared the audience from the full details of our war crimes in all its heinous gore, the boy’s head would not even have been covered.
It stands to reason then that if anything is fake, it is Australian outrage.
I agree entirely, and an impartial observer would judge the image for its clever execution and subtle message – which includes bodies concealed under the flag as well as symbolism in the missing piece of the puzzle beneath in colours of the Afghani flag. Further comments from the Chinese foreign ministry spokespersons show they understand exactly what they are saying, and it is not “bullying” or “aggression” but a call for Australia to pull back from its presence in Afghanistan. That to me is the message of the Brereton report, but one that no-one seems to be acknowledging.
But sadly I can’t agree that the Australian outrage is fake, as the vast majority of ordinary people will now feel they should get behind our leaders and the flag. The outrage we should be feeling is in the knowledge that worse crimes than are exposed above were committed, as bad as anything done by the terrorists we are allegedly there to fight.
Sir,
Thanks for shedding light on this shameful and disturbing affair. Until I read this article and the comments below, I wasn’t aware of the full implications behind the “cartoon”. I had thought that it was wrong. These explanations tempered my pov to some extent; but I still feel that it isn’t right because two wrongs won’t make a right. The Chinese could have said the same thing in a more thoughtful manner.
Sincerely,
Teow Loon Ti
Australian war crimes in Afghanistan were known about at the time by three groups: Afghan relatives of the dead and other civilian witnesses; the Australian instigators and the Australian witnesses. This was true from the start. Formal complaints were lodged with the Australian Army authorities in Afghanistan by the Afghani witnesses via the AIHRC. Australian Army investigated each case over the period of years and found wrong. The entire Afghani and world public administration system thus knew about the war crimes which for years were denied by Australia. Chinese intelligence I assume not to be totally stupid. The Australian war crimes are now being used by China for its own ends. China’s interest in and relationship with Afghanistan grows daily. China is not a “friend” of Australia, and the horrific events in Afghanistan have made the world less safe place.
Thanks John. I assume the Australian press silence led Adern to misrepresent the cartoon as “fake”. SMH letter writers (not journalists) made analogies to the cartoons that prompted calls that Muslims are fanatics. So too, Morrison, is quite unable to avoid his fanatic nationalism and, as ever take control of what Australians “should” understand, despite ignoring the fact that politicians are (rightly) responsible for war decisions. But are politicians able to interfere in the internal discipline that the Army has conducted since the Brereton report? I’d be grateful to hear if anyone knows.
These are extremely distressing extracts, and it is to John’s great credit that he has published them. Bad things do happen in war but the kind of behaviour described here–and no doubt in the redacted volumes–can only be described as crimes against the international rules of warfare.
Of course, as usual the real criminals escape. Those who sent them there and encouraged them in the first place. Those who, no doubt, have never been in a war or on patrol in a potentially dangerous environment.
I am concerned that the now infamous image is constantly being described in my local media as ‘fake’ or ‘digitally altered’, when my understanding of it is that it is deliberate crafted image by a young Chinese artist, which has been shared on Twitter by a Chinese official. Calling it fake or digitally altered suggests malign intent by somebody, when in reality it is simply one artist’s vision, a vision that from a non-Australian perspective is perfectly reasonable and appropriate.
I think China may be playing a clever game. The outrage from Australia was probably anticipated, and the ensuing furore means that Australia’s war crimes is getting even more publicity around the world. How can Australia fall into such an easy trap?
It’s not a trap!
how dare you treat the innocent Afghanistan people’s life in such a political way!
you have committed war crimes in an most unhumane way!
Regardless of what Canberra’s pretences, Australia kicked its own goal and Beijing’s scored a moral victory.
In the eyes of our neighbours, and especially the non-western world, the reputational damage to Australia resulting from these alleged crimes against humanity is incalculable.
Given the domestic politicisation of these documented alleged war crimes and since these alleged war crimes were committed in a foreign country by Australian soldiers, the right, moral and ethical thing to do is for the Australian government and Australian Defence (parties with clear conflict of interests) to stand aside and hand the prosecutions and trials over to the independent UN International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague.
For history’s sake, we should swallow our pride, humble ourselves and let the United Nations be the judge to independently adjudicate these alleged war crimes. With that, we can at least stand tall and say ‘We did not walk past the standards we accepts for all of humanity’.
If tried in Australia, these alleged crimes against humanity will remain, at best, tainted and partially cleansed, if not, an uncleased stain on Australia’s moral conscience for generations to come.
Is this so called UN International War Crimes Tribunal the same ones that was being sanctioned by the US?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54003527
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the court of “illegitimate attempts to subject Americans to its jurisdiction”. The Hague-based ICC is currently investigating whether US forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.”
Maybe Australia could try that next time?
Well said. Completely agree.
John Menadue exposure sends a chill down my spine and my last similar experience was the exposure of the My Lai (village 1968) massacre during the Vietnam War. 1968 was annus horribilis for the US and 2020 for Australia. This incident has dented Australian’s international reputation on human rights and gave a golden opportunity for the other side to needle us. All that drama in the media is only a smokescreen to deflect a real self-criticism of our nation.
I entirely agree that this is Australia’s My Lai, and deeply shameful. What is not shameful is that Australia is facing up to it, and has apologised to Afghanistan and is investigating reparations. I think that this is an important and maturing moment for Australia – one that is beyond the US (which explicitly avoids any international covenants) or the UK, or indeed China.
The real Aussie heroes are the people in the army who insisted on an honest investigation and were prepared to face the consequences.
Absolutely agree, and have said so elsewhere. It’s utterly shameful that the Government is still hounding McBride – he should have a medal. True moral courage.
My reaction exactly!
Thanks John for providing these excerpts.
It’s always good to have a bit more depth when thinking about these issues. Thanks for publishing the excerpts.
Lets not forget the government went to enormous lengths to hide all this & used the Federal Police & AG Porter to do their dirty work. It’s appalling the amount of political corruption that is associated with disgrace.
So Morrison and his media mates who came out in force, especially from the Liberal propaganda machine called the Sydney Morning Herald, are actually whinging about the Chinese for telling the truth.
Scott’s display is nothing but a continuation of using smokescreens in this case to distract the public with jingoism and nationalism hoping that people will forget the long list of dubious actions done by his government and his ministers that he needs to explain.
I think the entire Japanese trip was all about getting out of town because things got too hot, and how nicely the quarantine at the Lodge has worked to avoid attending parliament and defer scrutiny once again.
Well Scomo is just sorry he got caught.
Meanwhile the cunning brits are passing laws (Overseas Operations Bill) that makes sure any war crimes is buried while the US sanctions anybody who even attempts to investigate.
https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019-21/overseasoperationsservicepersonnelandveterans.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54003527 (International Criminal Court officials sanctioned by US)
Talk about human rights, all just bunch of hypocritical savages in suits.
Now the appalling photograph of apparently an Australian officer in Afghanistan drinking beer from a prosthletic leg of a dead Afghan has emerged. Is there no further depths of humiliation and shame our country can be dragged? And Morrison is fighting a twitter war. Fu Yu is releasing another image. Our incompetent PM is completely out of his depth and has added humiliation and international ridicule to national shame.