Killing for practice

These crimes continued for years, and we would not be surprised if the actual kill count is much higher


November 24, 2020

At least 19 war criminals, all current or former members of Australia’s special forces, might finally face trial. They have been referred for potential prosecution in Australia for the cold-blooded murder of at least 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. Some of the victims were children. Some of the adults were just simple farmers. None of them presented any threat whatsoever. The details uncovered by the four-year Australian Defence Force investigation are disgusting — senior commandos were forcing junior soldiers to kill innocent people in order to “blood” them for combat. Soldiers would be ordered by patrol commanders to shoot prisoners and mark their first kill. Once a person was killed, the soldiers would then plant weapons and fake a fight scene to cover up their crimes.

These crimes continued for years, and we would not be surprised if the actual kill count is much higher. Even though there were rumours that this was going on for years, a culture of secrecy kept the information from coming out until a military lawyer named David McBride leaked classified documents to the press. Because of his actions, McBride now faces charges for the leak. McBride argues he did so in the national interest. We will go one step further and say McBride’s actions were in the interest of all of humanity. Australia has already said all citations awarded to special operations task groups for the investigated period would be rescinded. But compensating the victims is not enough. Even giving the accused soldiers the maximum punishment is not enough.

We cannot forget that the only reason these crimes will be prosecuted is because one brave man risked his career and freedom to do the right thing. Letting him suffer behind bars for forcing the military to investigate uniformed criminals would be a crime in and of itself. If Australia wants to show that their country truly condemns war crimes, the first place to start would be dismissing charges against McBride.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2020.

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