Whistleblower David McBride faces life in prison for revealing war crimes in Afghanistan to the media. Watch his story here.
David McBride, a former Australian military lawyer, tells journalist Michael West about alleged war crimes and a cover-up in Afghanistan. He faces trial for leaking hundreds of pages of defense force information to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (whose offices were then raided by federal police), offering insight on clandestine operations of Australia’s elite special forces, including incidents of troops killing unarmed men and children. Republished here with permission.
One cannot fault Mr. Mr. McBride’s logic. The man has the education and experience and is very well spoken commanding the material he discusses.
Two examples at around 43 or 46 six minutes into the video he make two salient points about his opinions on proper conduct of the military and he then judges their performance.
He says, “when the military is corrupt, not protecting the country, not doing what it says it’s doing not spending money the way it’s intended to, then the country is not being defended.” Well this sound 100% correct to me and needs to apply to our military NSA, and CIA also.
He then goes on with the bunker blaster statement, “I don’t think the military leadership know what it is doing”.
He should know and he does, concise and to the point. Again 100% right. They don’t know because they have no clear objective, only side plots and PSYOPS.
This all has been mountains of bullshit and the generals who will not admit it need to fired on the spot.
Congrats Michael and David!
Best interview on Afghanistan, on Australian military, and on the general attitude prevailing in our federal thus all levels of government I’ve ever heard!!
#JaRD
Marilyn Henighan
November 30,2021 at 9:26
David McBride comes across as a man of conscience who became disillusioned with a corrupted, incompetent system he could no longer trust. Given what has happened to Assange, he must also have exceptional courage to speak out as he has done.
I was very touched by McBride’s expressed affection for the many ordinary Australians, who he feels are decent folk,who do not want their government war mongering and profiteering in their name. One wonders what kind of moral lobotomy takes place when people get into positions of power over the lives of others. I do hope McBride is not crucified for speaking the truth.
Another hero the Rest and also the best in the West can be proud of !
The US is worried about the unusually high numbers of service related suicides since the Afghanistan/Iraq War. Now it’s clear that ordinary people who do murder or witness the horrors committed by their side cannot live with their deeds or images. Yes, as McBride states the leadership needs reevaluating but who will do that?
So US military commits to more drones and we have graphic scenes from Clooney’s Syriana to show how people are asked to murder from afar. Australian series “Second City” shows even at remove people cannot do such evil without personal consequences.Thank you CN (Icontribute)
When will Australian, US and UK governments realise the stupidity of their wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and stop making yet more futile war efforts always at taxpayers expense and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? The rights of
whistleblowers are sacred to the protection of democracy and the rights of government prosecutors seem to be sacred to the protection of bullshit.
David McBride’s story strikes me as well-informed, articulate and heartfelt. If he is right about his duty to reveal government wrongdoing, and he can show that any lesser means than the one he took would only have resulted in continued secrecy and coverup, then it seems to me he has a good defence. It’s an old story, going back to a young man from Nazareth who felt he had to challenge the authority of a priesthood that appeared to him to stray from the teachings of his Father.
What is truth? We know that young man’s response to Pilate.
Today people are more sensitive to “truth in context,” “selective truth, with omissions,” etc. That can boil down to “some truths must be suppressed because the authority of the state must be maintained though the heavens may fall.” Or, “A state that won’t do everything to maintain its power is abdicating its duty.” That’s a very tempting view, especially to those whose livelihood depends on maintenance of
that power, however corrupt it may have become.
The old story is repeated through cases like Dreyfus, Ellsberg, Assange, and Snowden.
David McBride: what a courageous, honest, good, and good-humored man. I hope he beats this political persecution.
It is good to see another truth beacon to help land public opinion.
ThankYou!