Don't forget, John, that Cosgrove is the figurehead for S.A. Naval Recruitments (which role of course he acts from Sydney). I've just reread your original blog (cached version here in case you have link probs like I did).

Yes, it appears long overdue that some public statement over this issue is raised.  The fact that no explanation has been proposed makes a cynic wonder exactly what details of the event are considered too sensitive for the stomachs of a pre-election public?   I don't like our chances of finding out before the end of next year.

Awareness of such a situation makes one wonder what other information is being suppressed.

Thanks for your tip re the link Richard .... which I've now amended.

You're right of course. No way will the rodent's government give out any information on this matter & after 7 years, we must assume there is substance to the allegations.

Howard, Hill, Nelson & the Defence establishment have conspired to cover-up this matter & in doing so, have tainted the ADF & every one of its members.

I believe that Cosgrove will come to regret the fact that he allowed himself to be compromised by the government, as with so many others who have traded their integrity to sup with the devil.

It never ceases to amaze me how politicians - even brilliant creatures like Howard - actually believe that they can lie & coverup their lies & that no-one will ever know.

True hubris .... 

The saga of the 7 year old ADF investigation into allegations that members of the SAS had tortured & murdered suspected members of the Indonesian Militia in East Timor in 1999 continues …..

Today I received further correspondence from Aldo Borgo, Principal Adviser to the Minister for Defence, Dr Brendan Nelson MP.

Mr Borgo advised as follows:

“Following new allegations in October 2003 that Australian soldiers had assaulted and mistreated suspected militia personnel arrested on 22 September 1999, the Navy Investigation Service (NIS) was tasked to investigate the matter. However, the NIS was restricted in their ability to interview certain individuals and to conduct inquiries outside Australia. The Australian Federal Police, who had been assisting the NIS, increased their involvement in support of the investigation and continued conducting inquiries in Australia, Timor and Indonesia. The investigations by the Australian Federal Police has been completed and the results have been passed to the Head of Defence Legal Branch for review and comment.”

Given the above, I today replied to Mr Borgo’s letter as follows:

Dear Mr Borgo

Re: Allegations of torture & murder made against members of the SAS
in East Timor in 1999

Thank you for your letter of December 21, 2006 regarding the above matter.

Whilst I appreciate receiving the additional information contained in your letter, it is of limited value and raises additional grounds for concern regarding the apparent failure of the ADF to initiate and complete adequate and timely investigations into the allegations over the past seven years.

As I’m certain the Minister for Defence appreciates, that apparent failure continues to reflect poorly on the ADF and its members, as well as the government, whilst the ongoing lack of transparency surrounding the investigations and their status serves only to undermine public confidence in the ADF and the government.

More specifically:

You advise that the NIS was requested to investigate the matter, after ‘new’ allegations were made against members of the SAS in October, 2003, but that the NIS was “restricted” in its ability to pursue enquiries outside Australia.

1. Given that the source of the original 1999 allegations and the fresh allegations made in 2003 were made by alleged former members of the Indonesian militia and non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, all living outside Australia, why was the NIS tasked with the investigation by the ADF in the first place?

2. Whilst you mention that the AFP had been assisting the NIS with its investigations, at what point was the AFP specifically requested to pursue the investigations outside of Australia on behalf of the NIS?

You advise that the AFP has completed its investigations into the allegations.

Could you please confirm:

1. the date that the AFP completed its investigations?

2. the date that the results of the AFP’s investigations were passed to the ADF?

3. whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview Messrs Jao Ximenes, Caetano de Silva, Johnny Rohiede, Luis Heru and Lorenzo Gomes, former prisoners of the ADF in East Timor, as to their alleged mistreatment by the ADF and the circumstances surrounding the alleged mistreatment and disappearance of Mr Yani Ndun, and whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals?

4. whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview the non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, including members of the New Zealand Armed Forces, who allegedly witnessed mistreatment of ADF prisoners in East Timor, and whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals?

5. whether the results of the AFP investigations (or those of any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) will be made public?

If the results of the AFP investigations are to be made public, when will that occur?

You advise that the results of the AFP investigations into the allegations have been passed to the Head of Defence Legal Branch for review and comment.

Could you please confirm:

1. whether the results of the AFP investigation included specific conclusions, material evidence and recommendations for action against members of the ADF?

2. when it is expected that the Defence Legal Branch will complete its review of the AFP investigation results?

3. next steps to follow the completion of the Defence Legal Branch’s review?

4. whether the review by the Defence Legal Branch of the results of the AFP’s investigations will be made public?

5. if the results of the review by the Defence Legal Branch are to be made public, when will that occur?

Thank you again for your letter and the information contained therein and I look forward to receiving your further response to the questions I have raised.

Sincerely,

John Richardson.

July 1, 2007.

 

The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP,

Minister for Defence,

Parliament House,

CANBERRA. ACT. 2600.

 

Dear Dr Nelson,

 

Re: Allegations of torture & murder made against members of the SAS

in East Timor in 1999

Your government claims to have been pursuing investigations into allegations of torture & murder, made against members of the SAS serving in East Timor in 1999, for almost 8 years.

In December, 2006, your Principal Adviser, Mr Aldo Borgo, advised that:

“Following new allegations in October 2003 that Australian soldiers had assaulted and mistreated suspected militia personnel arrested on 22 September 1999, the Navy Investigation Service (NIS) was tasked to investigate the matter. However, the NIS was restricted in their ability to interview certain individuals and to conduct inquiries outside Australia. The Australian Federal Police, who had been assisting the NIS, increased their involvement in support of the investigation and continued conducting inquiries in Australia, Timor and Indonesia. The investigations by the Australian Federal Police has been completed and the results have been passed to the Head of Defence Legal Branch for review and comment.”

Following receipt of that advice, I wrote to Mr Borgo, requesting further information on the matter & raising fresh concerns regarding the conduct of the investigations. To-date I have received no response.

Could you please take immediate steps to address the questions I put to Mr Borgo in my letter of January 1, 2007, namely:

1. Given that the source of the original 1999 allegations & the fresh allegations made in 2003 were made by alleged former members of the Indonesian militia & non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, all living outside Australia, why was the NIS (Navy Investigation Service) tasked with the investigation when it was not empowered to undertake investigations outside Australia?

2. On what date was the AFP (Australian Federal Police) specifically requested to pursue investigations outside of Australia on behalf of the NIS?

3. On what date did the AFP complete its investigations on behalf of the NIS?

4. On what date were the results of the AFP’s investigations passed to the ADF?

5. Could you please confirm whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview Messrs Jao Ximenes, Caetano de Silva, Johnny Rohiede, Luis Heru & Lorenzo Gomes, former prisoners of the ADF in East Timor, as to their alleged mistreatment by the ADF & the circumstances surrounding the alleged mistreatment & disappearance of Mr Yani Ndun, & whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals?

6. Could you please confirm whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview the non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, including members of the New Zealand Armed Forces, who allegedly witnessed mistreatment of ADF prisoners in East Timor, & whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals?

7. Could you please confirm whether the results of the AFP investigations (or those of any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) will be made public?

If the results of the AFP investigations are to be made public, when will that occur?

8. Could you please confirm whether the results of the AFP investigation included specific conclusions, material evidence and recommendations for action against members of the ADF?

9. Could you please confirm when it is expected that the Defence Legal Branch will complete its review of the AFP investigation results?

10. Could you please confirm the anticipated next steps to follow the completion of the Defence Legal Branch’s review?

11. Could you please confirm whether the review by the Defence Legal Branch of the results of the AFP’s investigations will be made public?

If the results of the review by the Defence Legal Branch are to be made public, when will that occur?

The failure of the Defence Forces & your government to complete a full, timely & transparent investigation into these allegations has thus far succeeded only in tarnishing the reputation & standing of our Defences Forces personnel & must inevitably give rise to suspicions that your government has & is deliberately perpetrating a cover-up of these most serious allegations.

I look forward to your immediate response on this matter.

Sincerely,

 

John Richardson.

The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP,                                                 

Minister for Defence,                                                              

Parliament House,

CANBERRA.   ACT.   2600.                                                    December 16, 2007.

  

Dear Sir,

 

Re:      Allegations of torture & murder made against members of the SAS in East Timor in 1999 

As you may be aware, the previous Australian government was allegedly investigating allegations relating to the mistreatment of detainees by Australian INTERFET soldiers in East Timor in 1999.

The investigations were allegedly intended to address: ·                     

- 18 allegations of torture against members of the ADF;

- allegations of torture by members of the ADF, made by British & New Zealand military personnel &                     

the disappearance & possible murder of an ADF prisoner, Mr Yani Ndun. 

For more than three years I have corresponded with two Ministers for Defence, former Senator, Robert Hill, & the current Leader of the Opposition, Dr Brendan Nelson; various senior officers of the ADF & officials of your Department, seeking more specific details of the allegations & clarification as to the status of the alleged investigation.

 

The above correspondence has produced little more than official prevarication, with the most recent communication from Mr Aldo Borgo, Principal Adviser to the previous Minister for Defence, confirming in December, 2006: 

“Following new allegations in October 2003 that Australian soldiers had assaulted and mistreated suspected militia personnel arrested on 22 September 1999, the Navy Investigation Service (NIS) was tasked to investigate the matter. However, the NIS was restricted in their ability to interview certain individuals and to conduct inquiries outside Australia. The Australian Federal Police, who had been assisting the NIS, increased their involvement in support of the investigation and continued conducting inquiries in Australia, Timor and Indonesia. The investigations by the Australian Federal Police has been completed and the results have been passed to the Head of Defence Legal Branch for review and comment.”

 

Following receipt of that advice, I wrote to Mr Borgo on January 1, 2007, requesting further information on the matter & raising fresh concerns regarding the conduct of the alleged investigations, as follows: 

“Given that the source of the original 1999 allegations & the fresh allegations made in 2003 were made by alleged former members of the Indonesian militia & non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, all living outside Australia, why was the NIS (Navy Investigation Service) tasked with the investigation when it was not empowered to undertake investigations outside Australia? 

On what date was the AFP (Australian Federal Police) specifically requested to pursue investigations outside of Australia on behalf of the NIS? On what date did the AFP complete its investigations on behalf of the NIS? 

On what date were the results of the AFP’s investigations passed to the ADF? 

Could you please confirm whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview Messrs Jao Ximenes, Caetano de Silva, Johnny Rohiede, Luis Heru & Lorenzo Gomes, former prisoners of the ADF in East Timor, as to their alleged mistreatment by the ADF & the circumstances surrounding the alleged mistreatment & disappearance of Mr Yani Ndun, & whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals? 

Could you please confirm whether the AFP (or any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) sought to interview the non-Australian members of the UN Interfet forces, including members of the New Zealand Armed Forces, who allegedly witnessed mistreatment of ADF prisoners in East Timor, & whether witness statements were obtained from these individuals? 

Could you please confirm whether the results of the AFP investigations (or those of any other party involved in the investigations over the past seven years) will be made public?  

If the results of the AFP investigations are to be made public, when will that occur? 

Could you please confirm whether the results of the AFP investigation included specific conclusions, material evidence and recommendations for action against members of the ADF? 

Could you please confirm when it is expected that the Defence Legal Branch will complete its review of the AFP investigation results? 

Could you please confirm the anticipated next steps to follow the completion of the Defence Legal Branch’s review? 

Could you please confirm whether the review by the Defence Legal Branch of the results of the AFP’s investigations will be made public? 

If the results of the review by the Defence Legal Branch are to be made public, when will that occur?” 

I received no response from Mr Borgo & my questions remain unanswered, as do the original allegations.

 

With the recent defeat of the Howard government & your appointment as Minister for Defence, I am hoping that my outstanding enquiries will be addressed in a meaningful & constructive fashion?

 

The failure of the Defence Forces & the previous government to complete a full, timely & transparent investigation into these allegations has thus far succeeded only in tarnishing the reputation & standing of our Defences Forces personnel & must inevitably give rise to suspicions that it deliberately perpetrated a cover-up of these most serious allegations.

 

Thank you for considering my representations & I look forward to receiving your early response on this matter.

  

Sincerely,

     

John Richardson.

  

CC:      The Hon Kevin Rudd MP

The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP,                                                 

Minister for Defence,                                                              

Parliament House,

CANBERRA.   ACT.   2600.                                                May 3, 2008.

 

Dear Sir,

 

Re:      Allegations of torture & murder made against members of

                                   the SAS in East Timor in 1999 

Thank you for letter of April 18, 2008. 

As you are aware, I have been pursuing the Department of Defence & the Australian government for basic information regarding the investigation of allegations of mistreatment of detainees by Australian INTERFET soldiers in East Timor in 1999, for more than four years.

 

My enquiries to two Ministers for Defence, former Senator, Robert Hill, & the current Leader of the Opposition, Dr Brendan Nelson, various senior officers of the ADF & officials of your Department have been treated with contempt throughout, as no meaningful response to any of the questions I’ve posed has ever been forthcoming. 

 

Sadly, any expectation that I may have had that the election of the current Labor government would result in a more forthright & open response to my enquiries has been dashed by your delayed response to my correspondence. Indeed, your response lends weight to the saying that ‘we can vote for any party we like, but we’ll still get the same government’.

 

Your expressed hope that your letter would ‘allay my concerns’ is simply laughable, given that it offered nothing of substance in response to my questions & succeeded only in confirming the willingness of your government, the Department of Defence & all others involved in this tawdry affair to do everything within their power to continue to conceal the facts & the alleged ‘investigations’ from the Australian public.

 

The fact that your Department is prepared to rely on the outcome of unspecified investigations allegedly undertaken by the AFP, given their recent record, is damning evidence of either its incompetence or a determination to engage in a deliberate cover-up of the affair.

 

Every day our politicians plead with us to ‘trust them’, whilst steadfastly refusing to trust us. Any government that does not trust its constituents not only cannot be trusted but doesn’t deserve to be.

 

Under the circumstances, I will obviously have to pursue the answers to my questions by other means.

 

Sincerely,

 

John Richardson.

 

CC:     The Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister

            The Hon Dr Mike Kelly MP, Member for Eden-Monaro

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

                              Minister For Defence

                                     The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP 

April 18, 2008.  

Dear Mr Richardson, 

Thank you for your letter of 16 December 2007 concerning the allegations of detainee abuse against Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel serving in East Timor in 1999. I hope this letter contains the information you are seeking and satisfies your queries. 

I regret the delay in responding. However, as this issue has been long running and the subject of several investigations, a thorough analysis of the information was required. 

I’m advised that from the outset Defence took these allegations very seriously. When a single allegation was made in 1999, it was immediately investigated and found to be not substantiated. In 2000, new allegations of mistreatment were made and a comprehensive Australian-led investigation was launched that also involved Rotal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force investigators, the Defence Legal Service and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). There were 19 allegations in all, ranging from gender harassment, excessive use of force and denial of medical treatment. The result of this investigation was announced by the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, in April 2004. This was a very thorough investigation, involving interviews with 350 people in four countries at a cost of $130,000. Further information about this investigation can be found on the Defence website at the following address: 

                http://www.defence.gov.au/media/2003/ACF1848.doc 

I am advised that five months after this investigation was completed, new allegations were brought to the attention of Defence through the SBS program Dateline. This program raised new allegations specifically related to the alleged murder of Mr Yani Ndun. The ADF then launched another investigation. Until the matter was raised by Dateline, these new allegations had not been reported to the UN Serious Crimes Unit, the Australian Army or any relevant authority. 

To avoid any suggestion of bias, the Army asked RAN to conduct the investigation as the allegations centred solely on Army personnel. The Naval investigation was to be conducted by the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). However, soon after this investigation started, the NIS realised their investigation would be constrained because of limitations under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 which constrained their search powers. Thus, to ensure a full and proper investigation of these matters, the investigation was subsequently led by the AFP. 

With regard to your questions, I will address each issue separately. The NIS is empowered to undertake investigations outside Australia. As I have previously said, as the investigation developed, the NIS found aspects of their search powers were limited and then sought to transfer the investigation to the AFP so it would be possible to conduct the investigation in a thorough manner.   

I can advise you that the AFP was asked to take the lead in a joint investigation on 6 July 2004. The AFP notified Defence that its investigation was completed on 11 January 2006. It was also on this day that the AFP advised Defence of the outcomes of this investigation. 

As to your series of specific questions regarding the outcome, details and circumstances of the AFP investigation, I cannot respond to all of these as the AFP report to Defence discloses operational details the AFP has directed be protected. I can advise that the AFP conducted interviews in East Timor with local nationals but that the identities of those interviewed will not be disclosed. Over 130 members of the ADF were also interviewed. The AFP has not reported to Defence what interviews were conducted with International Security Force staff. Since the AFP inquiry found no case existed Defence considered the matter closed, pending of course the presentation of new evidence. As I indicated earlier, the results of the initial investigation are publicly available on the Defence web site. I can confirm no evidence was identified that the six detainees were mistreated by Australian troops. Further queries about the AFP’s investigation will, by necessity, delve into areas of operational techniques and are best directed to the AFP Commissioner. 

As advice provided by the Defence Legal Branch is the subject of legal professional privilege, I can only confirm for you that the Defence Legal Branch has provided advice to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The CDF has considered this advice and there are no plans for a public release of this information. 

I trust this letter will allay your concerns. I’m assured that Defence has taken this matter very seriously from the outset and I can assure you that at no stage was evidence provided that corroborated the very serious allegations made by the SBS program Dateline in 2003. 

Yours sincerely  

Joel Fitzgibbon

Three separate investigations are under way into allegations that Australian troops maltreated Afghan civilians who were captured during a raid on a bomb-making operation on April 30. 

The Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal, Angus Houston, said an initial inquiry carried out in the country by the ADF indicated there was no truth in the allegations. However, he had immediately sent two teams to Afghanistan to investigate further. 

One team consists of military police, who he said would thoroughly investigate the allegations. The second team would carry a longer-term administrative investigation to see if any issues emerged that needed to be dealt with. 

The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has also launched its own investigation, headed by a British colonel. Air Chief Marshal Houston said the allegations related to a raid carried out by Australian troops on the bomb-making operation just north of the Australian base at Tarin Kowt. 

Inquiries Into Abuse Claims By Taliban 

so, our fearless defence leaders have announced yet another 9 year investigation into allegations made against members of the ADF …..  

I say 9 years, as that is how long the Australian government has conspired to deny the Australian people the truth about even worse allegations made against the ADF, regarding abuse & murder of detainees in East Timor, way back in 1999. 

Labor’s defence minister has already shown himself to be just as keen to sweep the truth under the carpet as his predecessors, Dr Brendan Nelson & former Senator “high-jump” Hill. 

This latest “investigation” has as much chance at getting at the truth as all the others before it. 

For those who might be interested in the sordid record of our government & the defence forces in such matters, read In search of Yani Ndun or the postscript   muddy boots …..

An Australian investigator has named Indonesian military officers responsible for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999, including acts of torture where victims were forced to eat their own ears. 

David Savage delivered a report to the Indonesia-East Timor Truth and Friendship Commission that was scathing of Indonesian authorities who have for years denied responsibility for violence that left at least 1400 Timorese dead. 

Mr Savage says in the report, which has been obtained by the Herald, there was "either an explicit policy by the government of Indonesia, at least the military branch, to use and support militia groups to intimidate, coerce and even kill the civilian population that supported the option to reject" Indonesia's rule at a UN-supervised referendum. 

Officers Named In Timor Report 

elsewhere, in yet another chapter of the sordid  “aussie tony” legacy …..

Government lawyers have agreed to pay £3 million ($5.87 million) in compensation to the father of an Iraqi man who died in the custody of British troops in Basra, and nine others who were abused in a detention centre there, in September 2003. 

Baha Mousa, a hotel receptionist, was beaten to death. Ninety-three injuries were found on his body, in one of the most notorious episodes involving British troops in Iraq. 

The settlement will be shared with eight other Iraqis who were mistreated, the law firm Leigh Day, which represented them, said. "The compensation is for the children of Baha Mousa and the pain and suffering suffered by the men at the hands of the British army." 

At the court martial, six soldiers of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, including Colonel Jorge Mendonca, the commanding officer, were acquitted of negligence and abuse over Baha Mousa's death and the ill-treatment of the other Iraqis. A corporal admitted inhumane treatment, yet no one was convicted of killing Mr Mousa. 

British Pay Millions To Tortured Victims 

meanwhile, the masters of our own military glasshouse in Canberra continue their 10 year old cover-up of allegations of murder & torture in East Timor by members of our very own SAS, back in 1999 ….. 

criminal cover-ups are the common fare of politicians the world over …. 

see the above blog …..

Successive Australian governments & the Defence Forces establishment have a history of covering-up the less glorious deeds of our armed forces, in particular involving units such as the SAS.

On Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald published a report detailing the latest effort by Defence to conceal its dirty laundry & further conceal Australia's continuing unjustified involvement in the tawdry conflict in Afghanistan, based on the false claim that our ANZUS Treaty obligations require us to support the US in its base treasure-hunting activities in the region.

The Herald report said:

"Australian military personnel were involved in a cover-up of an investigation into the alleged involvement of special forces soldiers in the killing and maiming of Afghan civilians.

Information held by the Defence Department contradicts claims by the Defence Force chief, Angus Houston, that SAS troopers had nothing to do with an incident that left an Afghan man dead, a woman blinded and her daughter badly injured.

Air Chief Marshal Houston told a parliamentary hearing in early 2007 that a "quick assessment" investigation had found "absolutely no substance to the allegations" that Australian special forces were involved in the incident near Tarin Kowt in southern Afghanistan in July 2006.

But information gathered by Defence officials in Afghanistan has been uncovered that implicates Australians in the shooting. It is believed that some of this information was uncovered during the "quick assessment" ordered by the ADF.

The Defence Department is yet to release the findings of two other inquiries into claims Australians were responsible for the deaths of civilians this year.

In January, an Australian operation aimed at finding those responsible for the death of the special forces soldier Greg Sher allegedly left four Afghan civilians dead. Five children were killed in an incident involving Australian troops in February."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/military-covered-up-shooting-of-afghan-family-20090510-az81.html?page=-1

and Crikey offers further evidence of the proud record of our warriors at war ....

 

Afghan War update: civilian assassinations, warlords and napalm like substances

 

Overland editor Jeff Sparrow writes:

Just when you think the war in Afghanistan can't become any more obscene, it suddenly does.

Here's a grab-bag of new developments: In today's Age, Tom Hyland reports that Australian SAS soldiers seem to have accidentally opened fire on a car full of civilians, killing one person and injuring others, before driving away without offering assistance. Hyland's information flatly contradicts earlier assurances by Defence Force head Angus Houston -- but that shouldn't be too surprising.

Last week, we learned that the SAS was engaged in what the Australian called "targeted assassinations", in an "Afghan variation on the Vietnam-era Phoenix Program". Phoenix was a notoriously depraved series of atrocities. It's hardly remarkable that soldiers involved in an assassination program derived from it would have no scruples about something as mundane as a lie.

Meanwhile, the fallout continues from the air strikes in Farah, with a thousand students marching through Kabul holding banners demanding that "the murderers of more than 180 martyrs of Farah" go on trial. Naturally, that's not going to happen. Hamid Karzai might have publicly demanded an end to air strikes -- but Barack Obama's national security adviser, Retired Gen. James Jones, has said flatly that bombings would continue since, if the US were to rule anything out, it would be fighting "with one hand tied behind our back".

The unwillingness to rule anything out perhaps explains a new twist to the Farah story, with Afghan doctors suggesting that some of the victims may have been killed by white phosphorus, a napalm-like substance, the use of which as a weapon constitutes a war crime. In response, the US said the Taliban was probably responsible. It also explained that militants were to blame for the deaths at Farah, arguing that they employed "villagers as human shields in the hopes they would be killed".

Well, it's not impossible, one supposes.

Elsewhere, Tom Lasseter from McClatchy newspapers describes an interview with Hamid Karzai's brother, the head of Kandahar's provincial council. Lasseter asked Ahmed Wali Karzai about allegations he was involved in drug trafficking; Karzai responded by threatening to have him beaten.

As for President Karzai himself, he announced his intention to run for re-election alongside a certain Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a man described by Human Rights Watch as "one of the most notorious warlords in the country, with the blood of many Afghans on his hands". Mind you, in that respect, Fahim's no different from many of the other officials in Karzai's regime: a recent report suggested that less than twenty per cent of Afghan officials actually knew that torturing suspects was, like, illegal. To top things off, Karzai also plans to share power with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, another notorious torturer and a man currently (and rather inconveniently) on America's "most wanted" terrorist list.

If Karzai, despite his perfect English and his natty outfits in photo ops, seems an increasingly dubious figure, well, get used to him. With no credible opposition, Karzai seems set for re-election, and thus in all probability will, alongside his warlord friends, head the regime for which NATO is fighting into the foreseeable future.

Nice war into which we've got ourselves.

Seems the Milky Bar Kid - our Kevin - has slipped comfortably into the muddy boots previously worn by little rattus .....

from Crikey .....

 Australia, we are not the good guys

 Fomer editor of the infamous Oz Magazine Richard Neville writes:

Millions of warm hearted, fair minded humans live in America, though few are part of the military. If they were, perhaps the carnage could be kept under control. To Americans with a conscience, I say, get a grip on what's going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan, reign in the White House. To fellow Australians, pull your head out of the keg, ignore the heart-warming hype about "building infrastructure" -- we're part of a pitiless war machine.

It started as a revenge for 9/11, easy as shooting quails in a barrel. "Kill the bastards" screamed Murdoch's pet Aussie ranter in the New York Post, "a gunshot between the eyes ... blow their countries into basketball courts". And we did. In Afghanistan, the US bombed anything that wasn't a US franchise, which was everything: wedding parties, funerals, family compounds, villages, the Al Jazeera office, etc.

Back in January 2002, Marc Herold told ABC radio that a "realistic" estimate of civilian deaths since the invasion was 5000. Every year since, the slaughter continued.

In 2008, according to the New York Times, American led coalition forces killed 828 civilians, mostly "in airstrikes and raids on villages, which are often conducted at night".

A few days ago, these same gutless idiots operating in the Western province of Farah, allegedly killed over 100 civilians and are trying to blame it on the Taliban. "No that's not true," said an MP from the area, Mujammad Naeem Farahi, "and I am someone who supports the American presence". US Defence Secretary Robert Gates promises to "make amends". Look at the images. This isn't flushing out militants. It's a killing field.

The murders continue in Pakistan, often hatched and executed from Creech Air Force base in Nevada, where the silent drones glide into the skies every few minutes armed to the teeth.

So far, the "success rate" of drone assassins is abysmal. Two percent of the targeted "bad guys" are killed, and the rest of the dead -- 98 percent -- are innocent civilians. Today families in Swat are caught in the crossfire. Imran Khan has asked, "what country bombs its own people?" A country caught between a weak leader and an hysterical overlord. The US enforced battle "started without warning and their shells smashed our houses and wounded so many people," a fleeing resident told the UK Telegraph, "it was needless. The Taliban had already gone." Mohammed Aurangzeb, a former ruler of Swat says: "Far more people have been killed by the army than by the Taliban during military operations."

Kathy Kelly, a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, asks: "Can we see a pattern in the way that the US government sells or markets yet another war strategy in an area of the world where the US wants to dominate other people's precious resources and control or develop transportation routes?" You bet we can.

Prime Minister Rudd, Defence Chief, Angus Houston and the mainstream media, will you continue to lecture us on the "noble cause" in AfPak? Will you conjure Tobruk, summon up the ANZACS, and defend the valour of drone assassinations? Will you dare to cast a glance at the butchered children? No, not the sanitised images in our nursery-maid media, but the true life horrors -- corpses of kids by the truckload.

Will the pilots get punished? They'll get medals. The bereaved might get a fistful of dollars. The odious Taliban will get new recruits.

Aussie soldiers have unwittingly killed their share of innocents. Now our Special Operations Task Group is reportedly carrying out hunt and kill missions that are proudly linked to the Vietnam-era Phoenix Program. This was a lawless torture and execution squad that targeted civilians and is remembered as "the most indiscriminate and massive program of political murder since the Nazi death camps of world war two." From 1968 to Aug 72, about 26,369 South Vietnamese civilians were slaughtered. All for what?

In the past month, 438 bombs have been dropped on Afghanistan, and the tally keeps rising. Hillary Clinton expresses "sincere regret" at the 100 plus deaths, while Obama turns up the heat. This is a war of shame and sadness, a war that reveals what hollow humans we have become, a war that reflects the insatiable appetite of the West for conquest, killing and self delusion. Yet we still think we are the good guys.

 

Richard Neville can be reached through his websites, homepagedaily.com and richardneville.com.au