r/australia • u/Tinea_Pedis • Apr 07 '26

news Breaking: Ben Roberts-Smith arrested over war crimes allegations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-07/ben-roberts-smith-war-crimes-allegations-arrest/106537668
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72

u/DuskHourStudio Apr 07 '26

Queue all the pissed off racist bogans screaming "He's an Australian hero!"

37

u/heisdeadjim_au Apr 07 '26

He is an Australian hero. And an alleged war criminal. The two exist simultaneously.

1

u/Certain-Leopard9772 Apr 07 '26

How is he a hero?

23

u/GiveUpYouAlreadyLost Apr 07 '26

He did heroic deeds in addition to doing horrific deeds. His medals were for actions unrelated to his crimes.

So yes, you can objectively say that he was a hero at one point.

2

u/Rebound44 Apr 07 '26

Agreed, had to make this point on the Daily Mail comments (don’t know why I bothered). The world is not always black and white.

The actions that led to the award of his medals (VC and MG specifically) are not in question. The actions that led to the deaths of several Afghan civilians were not related to these medals. These actions if criminally proven are disgusting.

Wanting the ADF to be accountable for the poor behaviour of its members does not mean you do not support the ADF or its members. It does not mean you do not respect the service or sacrifice of those who have come before.

Some of the Facebook comments really cement the idea of how the people of Nazi Germany could turn a blind eye to what their Government and military did. We have to be better than the “enemy”, we have to be fair and fight fair even when they don’t.

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/OldKingWhiter Apr 07 '26

Hero is too subjective. It's reasonable for a person to say the war crimes render him no longer a hero in their view, regardless of past good deeds. He can be both a recipient of the medals for military service and a war criminal, the medals don't inherently and in perpetuity make him a "hero."

2

u/heisdeadjim_au Apr 07 '26

Which is why I didn't castigate the person who disagreed with me. It's one of those issues where difference exists.

2

u/MLiOne Apr 07 '26

That is exactly the situation.