On 12 November 2020 Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, announced that a 4½ year enquiry had revealed allegations of war crimes said to have been committed by some members of the Australian Defence Forces serving in Afghanistan. Scott Morrison “warned the nation to prepare for allegations of “serious and possibly criminal conduct” by Australia’s defence force in Afghanistan that could see soldiers prosecuted for unlawful killings.

General Angus Campbell, Chief of the Defence Force, soon after this news release said that he would write to the Governor-General asking him to revoke the Meritorious Unit Citation for special forces soldiers who served in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2013. On 23 November he issued a further press release showing that many members of the SAS Regiment had been issued “show cause” notices about why they shouldn’t be sacked” – remarkably before any decision had been made on whether a crime had been committed.

It was back in March 2016, when General Angus Campbell was the Chief of the Army, caused Major-General Paul Brereton (a sitting judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court – never a combat soldier as far as I am aware – judges never have to have actually done the thing that is being heard by them) to be appointed to head up an enquiry into allegations of war crimes against some Australian Special Air Services soldiers.

The allegations are that there were 39 murders of prisoners and civilians and the cruel treatment of two others by members of the Australian Special Air Services regiment during tours of duty in Afghanistan in the periods between 2005 to 2016.

Although the top brass in the Army have been quick to “tut tut” this alleged behaviour by the men they command, they need to look to the standard set by the victorious Allies at the end of World War 2 regarding the responsibility of commanding officers for the conduct of the men they command. The Standard that they can’t walk past was the one set in the trial of General Yamashita, the Japanese commander of  the 14th Army in the Philippines in 1944 when large scale killings of civilians, especially in Manilla took place. The standard is disarmingly simple and I have to say I wonder why some of the commanders of our forces in Afghanistan at the relevant times are smugly taking pot shots at the men they were commanding and not contemplating the gravity of their own positions.

Tag words: Australian SAS; Australian Defence Personnel; war crimes; Scott Morrison; Taliban; Afghanistan; General Angus Campbell; Chief of the Defence Force; SAS Regiment; Major-General Paul Brereton; judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court; Australian Special Air Services; General Yamashita; Joint Task Force 633; Distinguished Service Cross; Lieutenant-General David Morrison; Tiger of Malaysia; Shobu Group; Shimbu Group; Colonel Harry E Clark Snr; International Criminal Court; S.L.A. Marshall; Men Against Fire; SAS Captain Mark Wales; Sergeant Matthew Locke; Mark Mathieson; Albert Einstein; Return to Australia Psychological Screening; The Age; the Sydney Morning Herald; Kerry Stokes; Seven West Media; Victoria Cross; Medal for Gallantry; Australian War Memorial; Janet Albrechtsen; Ben Roberts-Smith;