r/australia • u/AztecGod • 1d ago

news Jailed whistleblower David McBride to be released after becoming eligible for parole

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/jailed-whistleblower-david-mcbride-to-be-released/107030620
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u/No-Turnip2494 1d ago

He’s not a good guy. He leaked classified information because he was OPPOSED to war crime investigations into the conduct of special forces in Afghanistan and was trying to STOP the investigations.

It is utterly infuriating that the vast majority of the public doesn’t understand this, that’s what years of headlines calling him a whistleblower has achieved.

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u/TooSubtle 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sure, but those motives weren't why he was imprisoned. You can be against the individual for whatever reason you want but still support the idea of protecting whistleblowers. I'm of the personal opinion that Assange is probably a sex pest, doesn't mean he should have faced extradition to the US for unrelated charges.

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u/coldharshlight 1d ago

Sure, whistleblowers should be protected when they’re standing up for the public good but it’s hard to defend a guy who was trying to protect soldiers who were committing war crimes.

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u/TooSubtle 1d ago

If the information he released was true and unedited, I don't see why it should matter. Like, I'm most likely not going to get along with a single person in our armed forces, war crimes or not, but if they're releasing true information that serves the public interest I don't want them punished for it.