Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

A report on an investigation into alleged war crimes carried out by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan was released yesterday (19 November 2020). The investigation found credible evidence that war crimes had been committed. The Chief of the Australian Defence Force noted the report’s findings that a warrior culture and toxic competitiveness contributed to the breakdown in military discipline (a transcript of his remarks was published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

In other words, the people involved and the people that enabled the crimes, were bullies (or complicit, or rendered powerless). Bullying has become entrenched in Australian society so we shouldn’t be surprised. The national infatuation with the ANZAC myth and our war legacy, has become a form of national narcissism which diminishes us all and fails our servicemen and women. Justice must be served for the victims of these alleged war crimes.

It seems trite to finish these comments with a music selection, but that’s why I’m here, so let’s get on with it.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

18 thoughts on “Acknowledgement and Justice Overdue”

  4. A Canadian airborne group was deployed to Somali in 1993 as part of a peacekeeping expedition. In the course of this action two Somali men were murdered by the airborne group and trophy photos were taken. This unit was disbanded. An investigation of this unit revealed a culture of racism, vicious hazings and attempts to cover up the unit’s bad culture. Canadians were shocked and dismayed but some dismissed it a few “bad apples”! Canada continues to wrestle with a military organization plagued by sexism in some quarters. We remain aspirational that things will improve but progress appears glacial.
    I like the very dramatic music of Hans Zimmer but it is new to me and I do not know its context. I have an ironic song suggestion for you, YouTube Leonard Cohen “Tower of Song” London live

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    1. Thank you for sharing that example. I am sure there will be much temptation here too to spare the pain.
      I appreciated your Leonard Cohen choice. Just what I needed. Thank you. I particularly liked his line at the end where he says that he is not the type of person to keep answers to himself. 🙂

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      1. I liked that comment too. I also spend some time in the “Tower of Song” . Cohen’s song “Democracy” seems even more prophetic these days give the current presidential transition challenges. His live in London version has great energy. Tracy thank you for your kind comments.

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  6. This latest revelation is a shameful state of affairs, just one more dreadful nail in the coffin that is 2020. I hope the perpetrators are punished. So often people get away with things like this. I feel very sorry for the people who have had to deal with their knowledge of this and the decision to make it known. I hate to think how difficult it has been for them.

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    1. It is shameful, Jane. I cannot conceive how high ranking officers would not have known about this. Where were they? Accountability is sadly lacking in many, many ways.
      This is bound to tear families apart. My heart goes out to the whistle blowers. It must have been a terrible ordeal. This may be totally unrelated, but It makes me think of that prisoner incarcerated in the ACT prison for a crime that we, the Australian public, are not allowed to know about. We were not even to know he was in prison!

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