Posts by Paul G. Buchanan
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Having read some extended exceprts of the book, which is richly documented, I am not surprised that the collaboration between the NZDF and GCSB and the US and UK counterparts was much more extensive than publicly revealed. But the deliberate misleading or obfuscation by the NZDF and GCSB brass to the civilian political leadership on what exactly its personnel were doing in Afghanistan strikes at the heart of democratic civil-military relations and should be cause for serious alarm because it is evidence of praetorian tendencies within the security apparatus. That is anethema to democratic accountability and governance.
There is a saying in the intel business that some things are too important to be left to politicians. In order to reconcile the need for operational secrecy with democratic accountability, security leaders brief the civilian leadership on the broad generalities of the mission without getting into specifics unless the latter ask for them. This allows the civilian authorities to practice plausible deniability if things hit the fan, which in turn permits the security leadership to make excuses based on mission creep, rogue elements, etc.
Either the NZDF and GCSB leaders did this and the politicians played (and are playing) along, or they lied. I am hoping that the former is the case. But the fact that Hager was given reams of govt documents and other sensitive material, coupled with his use of confidental informants, suggests that all is not well within the ranks of these two agencies (to which we can add the SIS leaks about the suspected Israeli spies).
I guess we can be thankful that Mr. Hager did not uncover evidence of NZ involvement in illegal rendition, black sites and sending people to Guantanamo Bay. But then again, perhaps this is only the tip of the iceberg. One thing is certain: there is a culture of impunity within certain sectors of the foreign policy and security community that sees public concerns about NZ's acitivities in those areas as a small nuisance on the way to currying favor with larger partners (hence the emphasis on PR spin). That much is amply evident in the book.
-
vangam:
I am going to break it to you gently. In dictatorships the political elite do as they please and the masses suffer the consequences, be it foreign or domestic in origin. In democracies the political elite are required to be transparent and accountable in their decision-making. If Key and co. put NZ at risk because of its redeployment decision, misrepresented the nature of the deployment and then lied to cover it up, well, only an authoritarian minded person would think that was OK.
-
The issue is that the National government sold the SAS re-deployment under false pretenses (i.e., that they would only be "trainers" that "assist" the Afghan CRU on counter-terrorism operations that do not involve the SAS capturing or detaining prisoners). As it turns out, as Wayne Mapp has now been forced to admit, it leads combat missions, kills insurgents and terrorist suspects and captures prisoners before handing them over the Afghan or US security officials.
The National government and (sadly) NZDF leadership have repeatedly misled the public on the true nature of these operations as well as what Rules of Engagement and Operating Procedures were agreed to when the redeployment was authorised in 2009 (a re-deployment opposed by Labour on what looks to be its knowledge of the Geneva Convention "problems" inherent in the mission).
All Jon Stephenson has done has exposed the official lies and deceit. He has done so without impugning the professionalism and ethics of the SAS itself. In other words, he has done what any honest investigative journalist should do, which is uncover the truth behind the official story. The government may not like that, but it is it that created the problem in the first place by not being upfront about the reasons and rules on which the redeployment decision was based. Slandering him does not alter that fact.
-
Thanks Russell, for keeping this story alive. The duplicity of successive governments when it comes to national security issues, set against the backdrop of ongoing erosion of civil liberties and expansion of the state security apparatus post 9-11, is cause for concern for anyone who believes in the democratic values of transparency and accountability. Jon's article raises some very serious questions that need honest answers rather than PR spin. For a tangental yet related take on the NZSAS in Afghanistan, check out: http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2011/04/tactical-utu-in-a-strategic-quagmire/