The ex-special forces soldier who allegedly confessed to executing an Afghan prisoner a decade ago is the target of an investigation by the Office of the Special Investigator.
Andrew Hastie,the opposition’s defence spokesman and a former SAS soldier,said the West must be willing to use lethal force to fight its enemies.
Major-General Paul Brereton has warned of the danger of national pride trumping justice when it comes to holding war criminals to account.
The off-stage drama in Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial included political manoeuvring,backstage machinations and a secret affair – though not the one people were talking about.
The only logical explanation for two groups of soldiers holding such different recollections,the media barrister says,is that one of them is lying. And if that’s the case,it follows that they are colluding.
Since allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan,soldiers have been forced to make choices where they might otherwise have hoped to step between the folds.
The court heard that Person 11 was himself under investigation for war crimes and that if he did not support Roberts-Smith he might not expect his friend’s support in return.
After several rocky weeks for Ben Roberts-Smith,his fourth witness was firm in the face of questioning.
A soldier went into closed court insisting that a certain Afghan soldier had shot a dog. When he came out,his story had changed.
Ex-SAS soldier Person 35 bristled with irritation in court that his former comrade was being scrutinised by lawyers and journalists from the sanctuary of Australia.
Hours after he finished giving evidence,a former SAS soldier was charged with harming and resisting a Commonwealth official.