Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride is facing a secret trial on November 13 that could result in him serving a life sentence for leaking classified information that formed the basis of ‘The Afghan Files’, a 2017 ABC exposé revealing allegations of misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
Although the allegations were substantiated by the Brereton Inquiry, which found “credible information” of war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian SAS personnel, in a startling similarity to the Assange case, only the whistleblower is being prosecuted while those who committed war crimes go unpunished.
It’s finally on – the trial of Afghan Files whistleblower David McBride. 13 November, Supreme Court Canberra. We need to transport and house witnesses and a posse of lawyers for 3 weeks. We’re giving David everything we’ve got. https://t.co/ZfAj2Tdpyx
Follow here for updates in… pic.twitter.com/HUn3Rcm5so— Xenophon Davis (@xenophondavis) October 30, 2023
David McBride finds himself charged with theft of government property. Under the National Security Act, one of a slew of draconian laws that came in after 911, the government can close the court and present secret evidence that only the judge is permitted to see, and whose contents neither the defendant nor their legal representatives are permitted to know.
During his tours to Afghanistan as a legal officer in 2011 and 2013, David McBride became increasingly concerned that the war was being dictated by politics rather than the best interests of Australia and Australian soldiers.
The rules of law and war were not being followed and were being breached with impunity because of the indifference of higher command. While some soldiers were committing war crimes, others were being wrongly prosecuted to cover up for the higher-ups. There was something terribly wrong with Defence: they weren’t defending the country anymore, they were simply defending the government, putting out whatever good news stories the government wanted, says McBride:
“You can’t win wars if you just keep saying: ‘We’re beating the enemy, even if we’re not. ‘This is good’, even if it’s not. ‘We’re going to give a medal to this guy because he’s a brave hero’, even if he’s not.”
McBride’s own ‘through-the-looking-glass’ experience came when he was involved in a case where it seemed the military were trying to put decent soldiers in gaol to protect bad soldiers. The only reason they did this, he reasoned, was because the really bad soldiers were famous people and if they went down, politicians could go down with them, so they needed scapegoats. It was all PR.
Australia: Lawyer David McBride and the Afghan files trial, opens November 13th
