World · South & Central Asia · 4 hrs ago
Inquiry finds SAS officers failed to stop unlawful practices in Afghanistan
An Australian military inquiry found serious failures in SAS command and discipline during the war in Afghanistan.
Some soldiers used “throwdowns” by planting weapons on dead Afghans to make them appear to be combatants.
A 2020 inquiry found credible evidence that Australian special forces personnel murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
The new inquiry says some SAS officers knew about the throwdowns but did not act to stop or investigate them.
It also found that secrecy, weak supervision and a culture of exceptionalism helped misconduct go unchecked.
Higher headquarters had warning signs, including rising numbers of people killed in operations, but the inquiry said they did not prompt effective action.
Only the summary is public; the full report will remain secret because it contains sensitive evidence.
A newly published summary of an Australian military inquiry says some SAS officers knew soldiers were using “throwdowns” to make dead Afghan civilians appear to be combatants but failed to stop the practice.
The inquiry found that command failures, weak supervision and a breakdown in military discipline contributed to alleged unlawful conduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
It also criticised higher headquarters for failing to investigate alarming information, including rising numbers of people killed during operations.
The report said secrecy, an “inversion” of authority and an uncontrolled “warrior” ethos contributed to the problems.
The full report will not be released because it contains sensitive evidence from an earlier Afghanistan inquiry.
- Who
- Australian SAS officers and soldiers, and higher-level Australian Defence Force commanders.
- What
- A military inquiry found cultural and command failures helped allow alleged unlawful conduct, including the use of “throwdowns”.
- When
- The summary was published online recently; the inquiry report was handed to the former defence force chief in 2022.
- Where
- Afghanistan, during Australian special forces operations.
- Why
- The inquiry cited failures of leadership and supervision, an inversion of authority, secrecy and a breakdown of military discipline.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Brereton Inquiry was made public and found credible information that Australian special forces personnel murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
Former defence force chief Angus Campbell commissioned an inquiry into the culture of special operations command.
The inquiry report was handed to former defence force chief Mark Binskin.
The executive summary was published online.
- Brereton Inquiry
- Found credible information that Australian special forces personnel murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
- Inquiry commission
- Commissioned in 2021 by former defence force chief Angus Campbell.
- Report handover
- Given to former defence force chief Mark Binskin in 2022.
- Publication
- Executive summary published online; full report will not be made public.
- Key finding
- Some SAS officers knew about throwdowns or rumours of misconduct but did not take effective action.
3 sources
What people are saying
Officers with actual knowledge of misconduct in-theatre, including notably the use of throwdowns to effect in fraudulent reporting, or rumours of misconduct, did not take effective action to investigate and address these issues.
It is extraordinary that no effective action was taken given the gravity of the matters the subject of rumours
I lived a lot of what I read in that report
There's almost 50 findings and a lot of it rings very true to me as a junior officer at the time