Posts by Alfie
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Here's a very good overview of the facts so far from Dave Armstrong in the DomPost.
...if Hager's only motive is money then surely he would have co-written it with Lorde or Richie McCaw rather than the lesser-known, though internationally respected, journalist Jon Stephenson?
Nicholas Jones reports that an inquiry is unlikely.
English told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking this morning that an inquiry into any of the claims was "unlikely", now the NZ Defence Force had told him its troops never operated in the two villages identified in the book Hit & Run.
Expect Hoskings to repeat the party line. Nothing to see here folks... moving right along.
Also in the Herald and following three years of battling with the OIA, David Fisher reports what appears to be yet another NZDF coverup... Our faulty war: the Afghanistan report they fought to keep secret.
A damning NZ Defence Force report on our largest commitment to Afghanistan is hugely critical of politicians and senior commanders, along with many other aspects of our decade-long deployment to the country.
But it was shelved after being deemed "insufficiently accurate", a decision made by a commander who oversaw one of New Zealand's six-month deployments to the country.
There's that SAS connection again.
While Key is implicated in the failed raid, Bill English has had clean hands until now. Why he would choose to become part of the cover-up in an election year is anyone's guess.
This story is too important to brush under the carpet.
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Sorry Graeme, but you have to forgive those of us who hold a cynical view of “independent” enquiries set up by this government and see them as a convenient way of brushing serious issues under the carpet.
As an example, take Judith Collins’ shameful role in Dirty Politics. The facts should have ended her political career. But choosing the people who ran the enquiry and Key's role in severely restricting the terms of reference allowed her to claim that she’d somehow been exonerated. Reappointing her as Minister of Justice was the icing on the cake.
Another example – the David Bain compensation enquiry. Justice Binnie’s conclusion didn’t suit the government so they shopped around and found Callinan – a proven right wing hanging judge who produced the result they wanted.
Some common themes emerge here. A Nicky Hager book followed by National government denials and suspect enquiries resulting in a perversion of the democratic process.
Will they get away with it again this time?
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I spoke too soon. English also appeared on Morning Report attempting to continue the spin of "unfounded allegations". It's looking like a coordinated defense was planned yesterday, according to this Stuff report.
English, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Tim Keating met on Sunday afternoon to discuss allegations raised by Hit and Run.
Hager's suggestion that the SAS have virtually taken over our Defence Force holds water. Note that Keating is a former NZSAS Commanding Officer who has served in Afghanistan.
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Hard News: The long road to Hit and Run, in reply to nzlemming,
That is truly beyond belief.
And shameful. Nicky Hager easily demolished the NZDF's latest spin on Morning Report.
It was a different operation, with the same name, at the same time, on the same night, but 2km away?
Seriously? When you're in a hole, it's best to stop digging. Let's see if Bill English & Co attempt to repeat the NZDF lies today.
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Colin Peacock examines media coverage of Hit and Run on this morning's Mediawatch. Those of us who don't follow right wing pundits like Hosking and Leighton Smith might be surprised at the disservice NewstalkZB offers its listeners by providing both men with a platform to spout world class ignorance and misinformation.
I'd recommend listening to the full version of the programme if you can, as the top of the story is unfortunately missing on the shorter clip.
Kudos to Mediawatch for producing consistently excellent journalism in an increasingly Breitbartish world.
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Hard News: The long road to Hit and Run, in reply to Matthew Poole,
...it’s still editorialising.
Let's see. John Key, Bill English, former defence ministers Jonathan Coleman and Wayne Mapp (the latter has since recanted) and a few other Nats are furiously spinning this story as a mere conspiracy. We can hardly expect Gerry Brownlee to vary from the party line when he returns from playing soldiers in Afghanistan.
On the other hand a number of SAS troops who were present at the scene have spoken to Nicky Hager and David Fisher and say that's not true. Writing in the Herald Isaac Davison quotes two military sources as saying:
"They knew they had committed an atrocity."
"it was definitely a revenge raid".
Mapp is on record describing the raid as "our biggest and most disastrous operation". The book states that he called the raid "a fiasco".
This is an important story and demonstrates excellent work from some of NZ's most highly respected journalists.
Then today RNZ is reporting that human rights lawyer Deborah Manning along with Rodney Harrison QC and Richard McLeod have agreed to represent the residents of the two villages that were raided.
Playing devil's advocate has its place, Matthew. But unless you apply a decent measure of common sense, you run the risk of ending up on the wrong side of history.
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Hard News: The long road to Hit and Run, in reply to Matthew Poole,
No, we don’t. Not really. They can editorialise about what it might have been, but they weren’t there. The people who know the understanding of the tactical situation on the ground at the time are the officers who were there at the time. Nobody else.
Can I take it you've read Nicky Hager's book then? The bulk of the information was gleaned from SAS people who were on the ground, during the raid. And from detailed research conducted on the ground by Jon Stephenson.
To describe this meticulous journalism as editorialisation is disingenuous at best.
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Hard News: The long road to Hit and Run, in reply to Matthew Poole,
You cite to Fisher’s piece and then use that wording? Really?
My understanding is that nobody from the village was returning fire, which would surely have raised an immediate alarm within the SAS group. Note also that no weapons were discovered in the aftermath.
But the soldier’s account also conflicted with claims in the book that the NZSAS were motivated by “revenge” over the death of O’Donnell.
He said the NZSAS soldiers would have been “angry” over the death but “revenge” had no part to play in how they did their jobs.
Then how do they explain the second raid several days later where our SAS used explosives to destroy the houses which were in the process of being rebuilt. Revenge wasn’t a motive? Sure thing.
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Hard News: The long road to Hit and Run, in reply to Stephen R,
Does the irony meter of anyone else trigger on this sentence? Or is it just me?
Yep. My scepticism meter shot right off the scale.
David Fisher has further confirmation that everyone in the SAS was aware of the civilian deaths, and the fact that "a number of those involved in the raid had received medals for their roles" sat uncomfortably with many.
When the true facts were widely known, it beggars belief that various defense ministers and even the PM were kept in the dark. Which suggests that they may have been complicit in covering up a serious war crime.
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Andrew Geddis has written a compelling piece on Pundit.
Think of a three-year-old girl. Maybe she’s your daughter. Maybe she’s your niece. Maybe she’s your friend’s child. But think of her.
Now think of her screaming in terror as her mother carries her from her home while helicopters pour 30mm exploding cannon shells into it. Then think of her screams ending as a piece of shrapnel from one of those shells smashes through her skull and kills her.