Defensible secrets—what is the DOD keeping from us?

Let me tell you a story about Australian troops in Afghanistan. It involves a successful mission by the Special Forces who manage to kill or capture Afghani insurgents, evacuate over three dozen women and children from a compound, and finish up with no civilian casualties. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this happened? Well it did­--on October 18 2010 in the Shah Wali Kot region. There was even helmet-cam footage of the event! So why didn’t I hear about this until I watched this week’s episode of Hungry Beast?

The fact is that the video was never aired. What’s even more disturbing though is that no information about this operation was released by the Department of Defence (DOD) until a week after the event – and when it was, the media was given this headline: ‘Four Special Forces Soldiers Wounded During Operations’.

Is it just me or does this sound a bit wrong? Firstly, the delay. I understand the need for security, but the video was approved for release by the ground commanders and Australian Defence Force (ADF) – the people making the strategic decisions. And if the information was so sensitive, why was it published by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) within 24 hours of the event?

Secondly, why do we get only the bad news from Afghanistan? When our soldiers complete a task with a positive outcome, they aren’t getting our support or recognition. Even the media is getting the wool pulled over its eyes by the DOD, and they’re generally the ones responsible for manipulating information.

If this is happening when the Defence Minister Stephen Smith has assured us that the Defence Force and the Australian Government are being transparent as possible about the Afghanistan situation, what else are we missing out on?

Source: Hungry Beast – Episode 21 2011, television program, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney. Defense Secrecy report by Kirsten Drysdale, 23 March 2011.

Image source: Defence Secrecy