Hugh Poate is the author of the bestselling book, Failures of Command, published in 2021. It was listed by the ACT Government as a finalist for the 2022 ACT Book of the Year Award. His son, Private Robert Poate, was the only soldier from Canberra killed during the Afghanistan War. He and two other Australian soldiers were murdered in an insider attack in 2012; the culprit was caught, but released by the Americans during the Trump administration’s negotiations with the Taliban.
“The sanctimonious manner in which certain journalists are reporting the outcome of the defamation case brought by Ben Roberts-Smith is a matter of great concern to me, and I believe the vast majority of those who served in Afghanistan and the Australian public,” Mr Poate said. “There is a multitude of facts conveniently missing.”
The following article includes those facts, in an attempt to balance the issue.
Ben Roberts-Smith (BRS) put his life on the line for this country and was awarded the Medal of Gallantry and the Victoria Cross for exceptional bravery. The citations for each of these bravery awards are on display at the Australian War Memorial for all Australians to read.
Some journalists are presenting themselves as journalist demigods for supposedly exposing the most highly decorated Australian soldier of the Afghanistan war for alleged war crimes, although he has neither been charged nor convicted of any war crimes. These journalists’ media reports, which initiated the defamation case BRS brought, appear to have an obvious desire to bring down a tall poppy to elevate their own careers in journalism.
- Ben Roberts-Smith suffers massive defamation loss (AAP, 1 June)
However, the reports by these journalists have omitted the following ‘facts’ that would provide some balance and context.
The media outlets involved in this case have mentioned that BRS and other Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) soldiers were at Darwan following the killing of three Australian soldiers. They have deliberately failed to mention that a rogue Afghan Army soldier known as Hekmatullah murdered the three Australian soldiers, one of whom was our son, Private Robert Poate. This was a war crime committed against Australian soldiers. Some of the alleged breaches in the rules of armed conflict by BRS and other SASR soldiers occurred at Darwan and other places during the hunt for Hekmatullah following intelligence reports that he was being harboured there.
The AWM should also note and record that Hekmatullah was subsequently captured and tried in the Afghan Supreme court on four offences: the murder of three Australian soldiers, the wounding of two, treason, and membership of a terrorist organisation (the Taliban). He proudly confessed to all charges, and the Supreme Court sentenced him to death. Hekmatullah was convicted in a court of law for war crimes on his own admissions. The families of his victims frequently requested Australian Ministers for Defence and Ministers for Foreign Affairs to apply diplomatic pressure for Hekmatullah’s sentence to be carried out, but the ministers refused. BRS has not been convicted of any war crimes; the manner in which he is being persecuted is a clear case of double standards.
During the peace negotiation process between the Americans and the Taliban, during which neither Australia nor any of the other 50 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) countries were invited to participate, the Americans agreed on behalf of the rest of the world (in typical American style) to release all Taliban prisoners, including Hekmatullah. Again, the families wrote to the Ministers for Defence and to DFAT, whose late response was to ask that Hekmatullah remain in custody. Hekmatullah’s sentence was not a custodial sentence; he had been sentenced to death. He was on top of the Joint Prioritized Effects List (JPEL) kill/capture list, and could have been killed on sight, whether armed or not, under the rules of engagement at the time.
Hekmatullah is still a free man today, being treated as a hero by the Taliban for killing infidels – Australian soldiers who put their lives on the line for our country and for Afghanistan, and who lost their lives from a most heinous war crime. Hekmatullah subsequently told Australian journalist Jeremy Kelly that he would do the same again. When the Americans killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaeda, last year in a drone strike for his part in planning the Twin Towers attacks, it was known that Hekmatullah lived only 50 metres away from Zawahiri. But the Americans did not strike Hekmatullah – he had not killed any Americans! None of this information has been reported to provide context and balance in reports of the BRS defamation case.
All reporting by these journalists has conveniently omitted that the Taliban did not comply with the rules of armed conflict set out in the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, the Taliban did not comply with the Ottawa Treaty, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which the Taliban used extensively. Hundreds of Australians and other Western soldiers were killed, dismembered, and turned into mincemeat by IEDs. During the battle of Chora in 2007, the Taliban cut off the hands of the wife of a policeman, who was forced to watch her mutilation before he was beheaded. The Taliban also cut the throats of children, stoned women to death, and cajoled orphans to become suicide bombers. The “Tactical Payments Scheme” was introduced during the war to compensate Afghan civilian victims for unintended consequences of our military action. Australia paid around $300,000 to victims. Many victims presented were young girls, not boys, about three years old, who had suffered horrific skin burns from melting candle wax to get money under the scheme. They had no future as wives. These facts are typical of the culture of our enemy in Afghanistan, but are conveniently not being reported.
Furthermore, the media, the ADF, and the Government have forgotten the families of all 41 of our brave soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan and the 261 who were wounded. Additionally, more than 1,500 veterans of this war, including SASR veterans, have since taken their own lives. More are likely to do so as a result of the unbalanced media reporting. None of the journalists who want to see BRS crucified have put their lives on the line in uniform. Their media reporting has been, and continues to be, grossly unbalanced for their own agenda. It is little wonder that the Army is experiencing record resignations of experienced soldiers, and is having great difficulty recruiting new soldiers.
- Hugh Poate, Canberra
