Craig

This is the part to the Ben Roberts-Smith story that makes my blood boil. On the night of August 29th, 2012 a Taliban sleeper agent in the Afghan National Army massacred three Australian soldiers in cold blood as they prepared to sleep on their own base. Their names were Private Robert Poate, Sapper James Martin and Lance Corporal Rick Milosevic. The rogue Afghan soldier was named Hekmatullah. It was the fourth insider, or ''green-on-blue'' attack by Taliban sleeper agents in the Afghan National Army against Australian soldiers in 15 months. Out of the 41 Australians who died in Afghanistan, 7 died by way of these insider attacks - attacks which technically constitute the war crime of perfidy. Hekmatullah's attack was a war crime under Article 37 of Additional Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Conventions which prohibits perfidy as an act of war. By enlisting in the Afghan National Army and wearing its uniform, Hekmatullah presented himself as a co-belligerent fighting alongside Australian forces - not against them. He invited the confidence of Australian soldiers so as to lead them to believe that they were entitled to protection under international law, and then betrayed that confidence to massacre them as they prepared to sleep. Ben Roberts-Smith was one of the first on base after the attack. He was ordered to find and apprehend Hekmatullah in order to bring him to justice. Acting on intelligence, Roberts-Smith and his men were led to the village of Darwan, where Roberts-Smith is then alleged to have committed a war crime, supposedly kicking a farmer named Ali Jan off a cliff and ordering his execution. Roberts-Smith has always maintained that Ali Jan was a Taliban spotter in a village that was a Taliban stronghold. It is a matter of historical fact that there was confirmed armed Taliban presence in the village of Darwan the day of the raid. Robert Poate's father Hugh defended Ben Roberts-Smith and his actions: ''These citizens in the village could well have been a civilian one day and pulling the trigger the next, that‘s the way the Taliban operated. This perspective should have been included to provide some balance and context.'' The Taliban fought by blending into the civilian population. They pushed sleeper agents into the Afghan National Army and murdered our soldiers in moments of vulnerability. Where is Hekmatullah today? He lives in Afghanistan as a free man, feted as a hero by the Taliban. They don't give a fuck about international law or human rights or war crimes. They openly boast about the way they slaughtered our soldiers through acts of betrayal and perfidy. So my proposal is this: Australia can put Ben Roberts-Smith on trial when the Taliban hand over Hekmatullah, preferably dead, his head on a silver platter. Until that time, FREE BEN ROBERTS-SMITH.

Well said Gina

Especially today, my instinctive sympathy remains with all of our special forces soldiers from the Afghanistan campaign, fighting at our country’s command against a merciless enemy, often under highly restrictive rules of engagement that meant known terrorists were captured and released many times. As prime minister during multiple deployments, and having spent time with our troops in war-zones, I could not have asked for a more loyal and professional military and my respect for their service is undiminished. Of course, there are rules that have to be observed and enforced, even against soldiers in times of war. Still, it’s wrong to judge the actions of men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life. If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade? The Brereton investigation commenced in 2016 and only concluded in 2020. The first war crime charge against a former special forces soldier was only laid in 2023 and three years later, this has still not been finalised. After doing their best to serve our country, dozens of former special forces soldiers should not still be in limbo years later because of ongoing investigations that have only resulted in charges in two cases. Justice delayed is justice denied. If evidence is clear, and cases are strong, they should be brought and concluded without delay. Otherwise, people should be cleared to get on with their lives lest the process itself become the punishment. In Afghanistan, our soldiers fought bravely and well for a just cause. I am very sorry that some of them have been subjected to a form of persecution by the country they served.