SASR #2.

Earlier this year, a trove of documents was leaked to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) regarding Australia’s role in combating insurgents in Afghanistan. The source is unidentified, presumably for security reasons, but the ABC does not explicitly state that this is the case. Reporters Dan Oakes and Sam Clark are credited with a seven-part series on the documents, that can be viewed in full here.

In summary, the seven parts depict accounts of different incidents in Afghanistan involving Australian special forces, as recounted by the two authors of the report. The incidents include a drunken encounter between a soldier and a female ASIS – Australia’s secret intelligence service – operative; the shooting of three men in a compound who were allegedly unarmed and avoiding hostile acts; the severing of hands of dead Taliban fighters; and so on.

In almost all incidents, independent investigations either cleared the Australian soldiers of wrongdoing, and found them to be acting within the rules of engagement, despite often qualifying their findings with severe criticism of the way that events were handled at the time.

It’s worth noting here that in part six of seven, the ABC reporters – having published their findings in July – finish the article stating that it is unclear whether charges were brought against the SAS solder involved in severing the hands of a dead Taliban fighter. As of September, the soldier was cleared and the charges were dropped.

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It’s hard to know what to make of these documents.

They depict some unsettling and certainly significant claims about the conduct of Australia’s elite soldiers in Afghanistan, and raise questions about both Australia’s ability to conduct operations that actually benefit the cause of counterinsurgency as well as the accountability of the soldiers themselves.

It’s hard to see a situation where the soldiers would be held to the same moral and legal standards that Australian citizens are at home – not only because they’re in a highly dangerous and unfamiliar environment, but because I can’t see a situation where the government, the judiciary, the ADF and the population at large are willing to actually engage in an objective discussion over these allegations.

There are some greater questions – such as the responsibility of soldiers to abide by civilised standards in a fundamentally uncivilised space, and the practicality of such expectations – but I believe there is a much more pressing issue.

In many of these scenarios, Afghan citizens – whether they are insurgents or unfortunate civilians – are the ones that are on the sharp end of Australian steel. If we find it to difficult for whatever reason to address issues of military conduct in Afghanistan, so be it – but surely we cannot ignore it if similar acts are jeopardising the effectiveness of our overall contribution to… Whatever the larger goal of our involvement currently is.

We’ve been in Afghanistan for many years. A simple google search with a filter for recent articles suggest we are hardly looking to finish the fight soon: I found these articles from CNN, Newsweek, CBS and Vox, dated within a month of this article, that paint a bleak picture.

I should stress that I am in no way downplaying the brutality and cruelty of Islamist insurgents in the region – the bloodthirsty nature of groups such as the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and IS (more in Syria, it’s true) are testament to the need to eradicate this radical and intolerant ideology.

It begs the question: are our efforts in the region that effective? Are we pursuing the best possible solutions for the destruction of Islamist insurgencies? Or are our actions sometimes counterproductive? Are we even attempting to win the ever elusive ‘hearts and minds’ of the Afghan people, and if not anymore, what are we doing?

I’m sure someone knows. Or at least, I sure hope someone knows. All I know is that history is very short on instances of successful foreign occupations, and teeming with tales of those who tried and failed. I believe in our motives at heart; but I’m certainly questioning our methods.