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==Findings==
==Findings==
=== Throwdowns ===
=== "Throwdowns" ===
The report found evidence of the practice of "throwdowns", where Australian troops would carry weapons and equipment not issued by the ADF for the purposes of planting on civilians killed in combat.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCulloch|first=Daniel|date=2020-11-19|title=Shocking Australian crimes in Afghanistan|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7020093/shocking-australian-crimes-in-afghanistan/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=The Canberra Times|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}} The weapons were then used in photographic and other evidence to give the illusion that the civilians were legitimate combatants.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}} The report speculates that throwdowns started for the "less egregious though still dishonest" purpose of avoiding scrutiny when legitimate combatants were later found to not be armed, but later evolved into the concealment of intentional unlawful murders.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}}
The report found evidence of the practice of "throwdowns", where Australian troops would carry weapons and equipment not issued by the ADF for the purposes of planting on civilians killed in combat.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCulloch|first=Daniel|date=2020-11-19|title=Shocking Australian crimes in Afghanistan|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7020093/shocking-australian-crimes-in-afghanistan/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=The Canberra Times|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}} The weapons were then used in photographic and other evidence to give the illusion that the civilians were legitimate combatants.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}} The report speculates that throwdowns started for the "less egregious though still dishonest" purpose of avoiding scrutiny when legitimate combatants were later found to not be armed, but later evolved into the concealment of intentional unlawful murders.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|p. 29}}


Revision as of 04:19, 23 November 2020

Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Report
LocationAfghanistan
Date2005 (2005)–2016 (2016)
Deaths39+
Perpetrators25 Australian Defence Force personnel
Websiteafghanistaninquiry.defence.gov.au

The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Report, commonly known as the Brereton Report, is a report into war crimes committed by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) during the War in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.[1] The investigation was led by Major General Paul Brereton.[2] The independent commission was initiated by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force in 2016 and delivered its final report on 6 November 2020. The redacted version was released publicly on 19 November 2020.[3]

The report found evidence of 39 unlawful killings, primarily of civilians and prisoners, which had subsequently been covered up by ADF personnel.[4] The report stated 25 ADF personnel were involved in the killings, including those who were "accessories" to the incident.[5] The unlawful killings began in 2009, with most occurring in 2012 and 2013.[6]

Report

The report is divided into three parts. Part one provides background and context of the inquiry, including its genesis. Part two makes up the main body of the report, and examines in detail 57 incidents and issues of note, and makes recommendations in regards to each of them. Part three discusses systemic issues that may have contributed to the environment in which the kind of conduct detailed in the report could take place.[7]: p. 28  The entirety of part two is redacted.[7]: p. 6-8  It is unlikely that the redacted parts of the report will be revealed to the public. Reasons for the redaction were to preserve and avoid prejudice in future criminal investigations and prosecutions, that information was obtained under coercion, and to not expose gruesome information that could traumatise or enrage the public.[8]

After one allegation in 2012 was redacted in the report, it was described in the section below it to be "possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia's military history".[8] Aside from the 39 killed in the inquiry, the report detailed two 14-year-old boys, who were thought to be Taliban sympathisers by SAS soldiers, having their throats slit before their bodies were bagged and thrown into a river.[5]

Findings

"Throwdowns"

The report found evidence of the practice of "throwdowns", where Australian troops would carry weapons and equipment not issued by the ADF for the purposes of planting on civilians killed in combat.[9][7]: p. 29  The weapons were then used in photographic and other evidence to give the illusion that the civilians were legitimate combatants.[7]: p. 29  The report speculates that throwdowns started for the "less egregious though still dishonest" purpose of avoiding scrutiny when legitimate combatants were later found to not be armed, but later evolved into the concealment of intentional unlawful murders.[7]: p. 29 

Blooding

The inquiry found that junior soldiers were often required by their superiors to murder prisoners to get their first kill, a practice known as "blooding".[10][11] Brereton described the practice as such: "Typically, the patrol commander would take a person under control and the junior member, who would then be directed to kill the person under control".[12][7]: p. 29  Throwdowns were then placed and a cover story created to conceal the practice.[4] The killing of passive prisoners of war is a war crime.[13][14][15]

Response

The release of the report garnered national headlines and international attention,[16][17][18] as well as a largely negative response from the public.[19][20][21] In response to the report, 2 Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment was disbanded,[22][23][24] and the Morrison government established a new Office of the Special Investigator to investigate further criminal conduct and recommend prosecution of individuals involved.[25][26][27] The Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds felt "physically ill" after reading the report.[6][28]

Supporters of military whistleblower David McBride stated in general terms that he "'provided the public with the first insights into matters now exposed by Justice Brereton'", and called for the dismissal of charges against McBride.[29][30] The chief of the ADF declined to comment on whether the charges should be abandoned.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Afghanistan Inquiry". Department of Defence.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "'KILL LISTS AND COVER-UPS': Disturbing details of alleged Australian war crimes shock". 7NEWS.com.au. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  3. ^ "Afghanistan Inquiry FAQs".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Knaus, Christopher (2020-11-19). "Australian special forces involved in murder of 39 Afghan civilians, war crimes report alleges". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  5. ^ a b "What war crimes did Australian soldiers commit in Afghanistan and will anyone go to jail?". ABC News. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  6. ^ a b "Afghanistan Inquiry: Australian war crimes 'made me physically ill', says Defence Minister Linda Reynolds". Perth Now. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Brereton Report (PDF). Australia. 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ a b "Afghanistan war crimes inquiry includes 'possibly the most disgraceful episode in Australia's military history', but it's completely redacted". ABC News. 2020-11-21. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  9. ^ McCulloch, Daniel (2020-11-19). "Shocking Australian crimes in Afghanistan". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  10. ^ Letts, David. "Allegations of murder and 'blooding' in Brereton report now face many obstacles to prosecution". The Conversation. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  11. ^ "SAS soldiers made to shoot prisoners to get their first kill, 39 Afghans 'murdered', inquiry finds". www.abc.net.au. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  12. ^ Staff, Reuters (2020-11-19). "Factbox: Quotes from Australia's Defence Force report into Afghanistan". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-11-19. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect". www.un.org. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  14. ^ "Customary IHL - Rule 106. Conditions for Prisoner-of-War Status". ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  15. ^ "Prisoners of war and detainees protected under international humanitarian law - ICRC". www.icrc.org. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  16. ^ "World News". web.archive.org. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  17. ^ "Australian 'war crimes': Elite troops killed Afghan civilians, report finds". BBC News. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  18. ^ "Australia finds evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan inquiry". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  19. ^ "A long-running investigation into conduct of Australian special forces alleges that war crimes were committed in Afghanistan". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-11-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "The Briefing: Reactions to the Brereton report span grief, anger, defensiveness and more". The Mandarin. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  21. ^ Dennett, Harley (2020-11-20). "What happened was unforgivable - and abhorrent to most in the ADF". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  22. ^ "Entire SAS squadron disbanded over disturbing Afghan claims". 7NEWS.com.au. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  23. ^ "Army disbands disgraced SAS squadron in wake of inquiry report". Australian Times News. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  24. ^ Daley, Paul (2020-11-19). "Brereton war crimes report fallout: what now for Australia's elite special forces?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  25. ^ "Australian war crimes inquiry: once the brutal details are revealed what happens next?". the Guardian. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  26. ^ "'Difficult and hard news for Australians': PM warns of content in war crimes report". www.abc.net.au. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  27. ^ Richard Marles says he supports the Office of the Special Investigator, 2020-11-19, retrieved 2020-11-21
  28. ^ Defence Min. 'physically ill' while reading Afghanistan report, 2020-11-20, retrieved 2020-11-21
  29. ^ Coughlan, Matt (2020-11-20). "Calls to drop war crimes leaking charges". The Young Witness. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  30. ^ a b Burgess, Katie (2020-11-19). "Afghanistan inquiry: Calls to drop prosecution of whistleblower David McBride". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
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