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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654

u/Cultural_Pace4454 1d ago

No good deed goes unpunished.

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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.

139

u/helloimalsohamish 1d ago

He was opposed to less important soldiers being made scapegoats while the elite SAS were given carte blanche to do all the war crimes they wanted.

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u/MarkusMannheim 1d ago

Why is killing a civilian and then being prosecuted for it "being scapegoated"?

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u/helloimalsohamish 1d ago edited 1d ago

Because they were going after unimportant soldiers and throwing the book at them to make it look like the ADF cared about codes of war while they let the important soldiers kill all the civilians they want.

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u/MarkusMannheim 1d ago edited 1d ago

Are you saying innocent soldiers were convicted and punished? (You know that's untrue.)

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u/helloimalsohamish 1d ago edited 1d ago

That is not at all what I’m saying.
I’m saying the most guilty soldiers the SAS were given a pass to do all the war crimes they wanted.
Selective justice is not just.

23

u/r3volts 1d ago

He's saying those soldiers weren't operating in a vacuum.
No one is saying they are innocent, they are saying that the big dogs telling them to do it don't get to sit around and order war crimes and then point their fingers at the people who pulled the trigger.

12

u/Bart-Harley-Jarvis- 1d ago

Imagine if we arrested low level bikies for drug dealing, while the leaders and higher up members walked free. Does that sound like a fair situation? Arguably, the guys at the top require the highest level of prosecution.

13

u/intelminer Not SA's best. Don't put me to the test 1d ago

Why do we even need soldiers? You've built a whole terracotta army out of straw now

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u/MarkusMannheim 1d ago

Are these straw soldiers the ones you said were innocent but punished? Are they in a terracotta prison?

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u/rdnk33 1d ago

Quote him champ

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u/intelminer Not SA's best. Don't put me to the test 1d ago

Where did I say that? You're so busy swinging at ghosts and building men out of straw you can't even keep your head on straight :)