"Animal Farm in the Defence Department" - Tony Kevin, 1 March 2004

 

Orwell’s Animal Farm newsboard is again been rewritten in Canberra. Faithful Boxer the farm horse vaguely remembers:

"Didn’t the Prime Minister tell us on 20 March 2003 that our war against Iraq was starting on that day?"

"No, you stupid horse" says Squealer the spin-pig indignantly, "The war started on 18 March – how can you possibly have got that date wrong!"

"Yes, I suppose you must be right", says Boxer doubtfully …

References:

The SAS secret preemptive war in Iraq story was addressed on www.tonykevin.com in these three files:

http://www.tonykevin.com/SecretsAlliesSMHfinal.html - text of SMH article 17 Jan 2004 , "Secrets and Allies"

http://www.tonykevin.com/AgeIraqArticlel.html - text of Age article 17 Jan 2004, "Our questionable tactics in Iraq"

http://www.tonykevin.com/SASUpdateStory.html , updated analysis on this story including text of Senator Hill’s letters to SMH and Age on 21 and 22 January 2004 (which went up on my website on 26 January 2004)

Updated Commentary

Throughout February 2004, there was a large quantity of reporting and commentary on the question of "Why" Australia went to war with Iraq. But still there is nothing on "How" or "When" Australia went to war with Iraq.

Does anybody care that Australia’s First SAS Regiment, under Howard government orders, attacked Iraqi soldiers inside Iraq and presumably killed or wounded large numbers of them during 1 ˝ days before the Australian government announced that this war had started? Wouldn’t many Australians from all sides of politics view this as dishonourable conduct, seriously unworthy of our country and the proud record of our ADF?

The past month has seen a total media silence on this issue that I opened up in my two Fairfax press stories on 17 January and returned to on 26 January . We are now into March. There is still absolutely no public comment on this.

Senator Hill and the Department of Defence have taken advantage of the general media apathy on this issue, to produce on 23 February 2004 a blatantly dishonest report on the history of the launch of this war:

http://www.defence.gov.au/publications/lessons.pdf

"The War in Iraq – ADF Operations in the Middle East 2003"

Here are key extracts:

Page 15:

"On 18 March, the Prime Minister advised Parliament that the Government had authorised the ADF to take part in operations by the international coalition of military forces. On the same day, Saddam Hussein rejected the ultimatum to relinquish power and leave Iraq."

Page 16:

"On 18 March 2003, after Government announced its decision to commit ADF elements to the international coalition of military forces, the ADF began Operation Falconer."

Page 22:

"The Australian Government on 18 March authorised the ADF to take part in Coalition operations. Subsequently the SAS entered Iraq by air and land …. 30 kilometres inside Iraq the force met numerous enemy vehicles. This engagement was one of the first ground contacts of the war . Iraqi soldiers engaged the Australians but were overcome by the Australian patrol’s fire power. When they surrendered, they were disarmed and SAS medics treated the wounded Iraqi soldiers before releasing them. This did not compromise the mission and the vehicle patrols arrived at their planned locations by first light …..

 

These statements are misleading, if not downright lies.

They obscure on-the-public-record facts – that the Australian Prime Minister and the ADF media spokesman, Brigadier Mike Hannan, both announced on 20 March 2003 that Australia’s war against Iraq, Operation Falconer, was starting on that day 20 March, at the hour that Bush’s 48-hour ultimatum expired:

"Today marks the first indication of our active involvement" – Howard in Parliament, 20 March 2003

"And so we begin. Operation Falconer is the name given to the ADF contribution to the coalition to disarm Iraq. These briefings will be given regularly throughout the operation" – Brigadier Mike Hannan, ADF Operation Falconer spokesman , opening his first briefing on 20 March 2003.

In fact, as we now know and Hill has effectively now admitted on 21-22 January and in this new Defence report, Australia’s SAS had been secretly ordered to start fighting inside Iraq 36 hours earlier, on the evening of 18 March, in the first darkness hours after Howard had told the people of Australia that he was committing Australian forces to the coalition "for possible future action", and that Australian forces were ready to take part in any US-led coalition operation "that may take place in the future".

Early SAS engagements during that first 1 ˝ days of undeclared war were major and on the Iraqi side, bloody.

This factual record is now being progressively erased from public memory . Now, Defence Minister Hill tells us, those hesitant and conditional statements by Howard at the commencement of an announced 48-hour coalition ultimatum to Saddam Hussein on 18 March were actually a legal and proper announcement of commitment to war. This is nonsense, if the English language still means anything in Australia.

SAS pass the wreckage of Iraqi Aircraft

Tony Kevin, Canberra, 1 March 2004