[Southern + November 19th] According to US media reports, on November 18, the Australian military released a report on war crimes, stating that it would be responsible for the 23 illegal killings of elite Australian troops in Afghanistan. .
But what is the use of an apology? Can 39 victims be brought back to life?
On November 18th, General Angus Campbell, the commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in detail on the investigation results that the credible information in the report can confirm that 25 elite Australian troops were suspected of illegally killing 39 people in 23 incidents. Moreover, there was no fierce struggle when these Australian soldiers committed these crimes, that is, 39 victims were non-combatants or no longer combatants, and most of them were civilians.
In this regard, Campbell said that the results of the report accused the elite troops of serious violations of military behavior and professional values, and the illegal killing of civilians and prisoners is absolutely unacceptable, and on behalf of the Australian Army, he extended a sincere apology to the Afghan people.
asked the recruits to take action, but the civilians were killed, and the soldiers could not stand it!
It is worth noting that the report also mentions an evil deed by elite troops. Soldiers who have just joined are sometimes forced to shoot prisoners in order to achieve the so-called "first kill", which they internally call "bleeding" . Major General Breton said: “Usually, the commander will take a controlled person and a recruit, and then ask the recruit to shoot the controlled person.” What’s even more horrifying is that the bodies of some victims will be deliberately Put on weapons to achieve the purpose of the elite troops to hide illegal killings.
However, the atrocities mentioned in the above report are just the tip of the iceberg among the many crimes committed by elite troops, and their cruelty cannot be accepted by soldiers. Braden Chapman once served as a signal intelligence officer in an elite force. When describing the cruel behavior of patrol soldiers killing an innocent Afghan man, he said, "I saw that he just raised his hands, stood there, and then It became a target for the soldier to practice shooting."
The troops that even the Americans were afraid of, are now wilting again?
However, what the elite troops did in Afghanistan is not the first time that Australian soldiers have been criticized for committing acts against humanity. In another joint operation of the Australian Second Commando in 2012, Australian soldiers immediately opened fire after landing from a helicopter, and shot and killed several unidentified Afghans on the spot. This move greatly annoyed the U.S. Army. Afterwards, U.S. soldiers asked the Australians why they killed people for no apparent reason, but the Australians acted calmly about this, as if it was not a person but an animal that had just been killed. Some Australian soldiers even revealed that his superiors had told them that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was very reluctant to carry out joint operations with the Australian army, because the Australian army’s behavior on the battlefield made DEA deeply angry and uneasy.
And now, the Australian army, whose brutality even the US military has seen it scared, is now facing severe punishment for its own evil. At the time of the investigation, General Campbell announced that the Second Squadron of the Special Air Force had been removed from the army's combat orders. This means that the second squadron with 90 soldiers has actually been disbanded, and all traces of it in the army have been erased, including the battle honors it once won.
It’s just that the army can be disbanded overnight, and the honor can be easily erased, but the trauma of the 39 victims’ families who were killed may not be healed during the four-year investigation.
proofreading: Liu Jun
