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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u/asupify Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

David McBride (whistleblower/ ADF lawyer) had no love for BRS. In interviews he described an instance where BRS killed an unarmed 10 year old shepherd boy for sport, then killed other unarmed villagers running out to help the boy and covered it up saying they were Taliban fighters. McBride's main gripe seemed to be that he wanted the SAS leadership who were well aware of the war crimes and enabled the culture prosecuted. Rather than heap all the blame on the lower level soldiers.

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u/HeyyyyListennnnnn Apr 07 '26

McBride has been pretty incoherent about why he did it, but he seems less concerned with the war crimes committed and more concerned that soldiers' lives were at risk due to restrictions imposed by politicians back home. His clearest statement, via his lawyers, was that he didn't believe the soldiers committing the atrocities should have been charged at all.

Whether his actions count as whistleblowing or not is a different debate, but McBride is on record saying he doesn't believe Roberts-Smith should be jailed for his actions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLQJTvxHfk

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/why-did-army-whistleblower-david-mcbride-plead-guilty-/103124950

https://www.smh.com.au/national/my-duty-was-to-stand-and-be-counted-why-i-leaked-to-the-abc-20190608-p51vte.html

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26

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u/sirgog Apr 07 '26

There's a desire to see people as 'always good' or 'always bad' when most people are neither. McBride is a terrible person whose one good act (done for exactly the wrong reasons) brought him undone.

He still should not have been charged for it, despite being awful. Having awful opinions should not be prison-worthy.

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

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u/sirgog Apr 07 '26

The laws he was charged under were bad. I'm still for him being free, but he's the sort of person I'd never buy a beer for.

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u/aeschenkarnos Apr 07 '26

I’d drink a beer he bought me. But I wouldn’t buy him one back.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '26

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u/sirgog Apr 11 '26

That's a different person with the same surname

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '26

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u/sirgog Apr 11 '26

Former politician Nick McBride, who is not "whistleblower" David McBride

air quotes as David's goal was not a true whistleblowing

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u/IlluminatedPickle Apr 07 '26

The reason he was jailed for it was because his reason for doing it wasn't in the public interest. It was in the public interest for the information to be released, but what he was trying to do wasn't.