‘Malicious and commercially motivated’: Ben Roberts-Smith blasts Nine (Victoria Cross recipient)

news.com.au ^ | 7th October 2019

[naturalman1975]

Australia’s most decorated soldier has accused Nine of being “malicious”, saying the company is commercially motivated to tear him down.

Ben Roberts-Smith has accused Nine of being commercially motivated and malicious when it alleged the former soldier was engaged in war crimes.

Australia’s most decorated soldier has hit back at claims he handcuffed and kicked an Afghan prisoner named Ali Jan off a cliff during a military operation in Afghanistan in 2012. The prisoner was then allegedly shot dead by another soldier.

“I want Australians to know that I absolutely deny these hurtful allegations,” Mr Roberts-Smith said in a statement provided to The Australian.

....

“What was aired by Nine’s 60 Minutes program … shows the lengths Nine will go to smear me and cast a dark cloud over my service to this nation,” Mr Roberts-Smith said.

“It was also an attempt to prejudge two ­official inquiries examining the ­alleged incident, one an Australian Federal Police criminal probe, the second a long-running inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into possible war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan.”

[naturalman1975]

Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC MG is a hero.

In addition to his Victoria Cross (received for storming three machine gun posts, allowing his patrol to enter and neutralise a Taliban stronghold, he was also separately awarded the Medal for Gallantry for a completely separate incident (acting as a sniper from an exposed position to repeatedly hold off enemy troops for forty minutes who were threatening to overrun a patrol position until air support could arrive).

And the left-wing media in Australia is doing everything they can to smear him based on vague allegations.

It is entirely appropriate any such allegations are properly investigated - but the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, and the Australian Federal Police, are carrying out proper investigations.

Merely reporting that would be ethical behaviour by the media - but 60 Minutes (an Australian copy of the American show made by Australia's Nine Network) is going far beyond merely reporting the facts of an investigation.

The fact that Ben Roberts-Smith is now a senior figure in the management of the Seven Network (Nine Network's major rival) makes what they are doing even more suspicious.

[2banana]

This is my weak arm...

“kicked an Afghan prisoner named Ali Jan off a cliff during a military operation”

[NorthMountain]

1) The “60 Minutes” show in the USA is notoriously leftist and dishonest ... the epitome of Fake News. It has been so for decades.

2) Throwing a Talibastard off a cliff? I fail to see the problem, here ...

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

If you kick someone off a cliff, esp. in Afghanistan, then they are dead on contact with the mountain or ground. How can you then “shoot them to death”?

The Australian Marxist Left is stronger and more embedded in Australia’s media and politics than is known.

This story bears more watching.

[SunkenCiv]

60 Minutes Australia broadcast the smear.

[naturalman1975]

Throwing a Talibastard off a cliff? I fail to see the problem, here ...

The are Rules of War that have to be followed. As a retired officer, I agree with that.

But I need to see very strong evidence before I will accept they were broken by a professional soldier.

And - to be blunt - if a group of SAS soldiers (and that's what we're talking about here - the SAS, among the best of the best in the world) went rogue and decided to commit war crimes... I don't believe they would leave any witnesses left to talk about it.

I don't believe it happened.

[NorthMountain]

If AUS “60 Minutes” is anything like USA “60 Minutes”, I assume by default that they are lying. A ‘half truth’ constitutes a lie.

And if it happens that he DID toss one of the Taliban off a cliff, I assume by default that he had a damn good reason to do it.

[piasa]

Our 60 minutes went after the Haditha marines in hopes of creating another Mai Lai

[SES1066]

If I recall correctly, our ‘60 Minutes’ was one of the leading players in the “Abu Ghraib” affair. That was a crock of idiocy that spoke far more of the LEFTist tilt and anti-military antagonism in our media than real news. This smells the same!

[Mark17]

Ping

[melsec]

I don’t believe it! Not only is this guy a massive fighting unit by himself but also seemed very cognizant of the the Anzac spirit, history and the weight of the awards he has learnt.

[Mark17]

Who is the dude accusing the troops as being war criminals? Is he some sort of left wing agitator?

[melsec]

Supposedly 2 SAS troops overheard other troops tell the story. 60 minutes is the same here as in the US I.e. lefties. They picked up the story and have run with it. It’s like the Trump whistleblower I.e. firsthand knowledge. To me it’s a new test for believability the left want to try out. If they can do this to him or to Trump then they can take down anyone the want anytime. The bible says by two witnesses let everything be established. The left says believe women, believe a second hand whistleblower, believe us and pur media.

[melsec]

That should read “no first-hand knowledge”

[Mark17]

Sounds like the left wingers are as bad in Australia, as they are anywhere. 👎

[melsec]

Mostly they are just useful idiots who don’t know any better there are some nasty ones as anywhere

[Mark17]

Folks, my son, US Air Force 2nd Lieutenant AR, finished USAF initial flight training today, at Pueblo, Colorado. I must say it again, for my Army friends, aircraft go faster than tanks. 😁 I have to give credit, where credit is due, his instructor pilot, was a retired Army enlisted man. The company does not care what people’s rank was. All they care about, is if they can fly the aircraft. 👍

[melsec]

Awesome!

[ealgeone]

Folks, my son, US Air Force 2nd Lieutenant AR, finished USAF initial flight training today, at Pueblo, Colorado. I must say it again, for my Army friends, aircraft go faster than tanks. 😁 I have to give credit, where credit is due, his instructor pilot, was a retired Army enlisted man. The company does not care what people’s rank was. All they care about, is if they can fly the aircraft.

AWESOME!!!!

Please congratulate the Lieutenant on his accomplishment!

[Mark17]

👍