Latest news with #militaryengagement
Sky News
16-05-2025
- Sky News
Ben Roberts-Smith: Australia's most decorated living war veteran loses defamation appeal over Afghanistan killings
Australia's most decorated living war veteran has lost his appeal against a court's ruling that he unlawfully killed four people while on duty in Afghanistan. The allegations against Ben Roberts-Smith were printed by three newspapers in 2018 - and in 2023, a judge concluded he had not been defamed. Mr Roberts-Smith appealed against this decision at the Federal Court in Sydney, but a panel of three judges unanimously rejected his request. He has never faced criminal charges, which must be proven to the higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt. The former Special Air Service Regiment corporal, who was awarded the Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry, says he will "immediately" seek a High Court challenge. He was portrayed as someone who "broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement" while serving in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times had alleged he played a part in the unlawful killings of several Afghans. Soldiers who said they were there accused him of fatally shooting an unarmed Afghan teenage spotter, and kicking a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering him to be shot dead. The papers also reported the 46-year-old had pressured a low-ranking soldier to execute an elderly, unarmed Afghan to "blood the rookie". And in another case, it was alleged that he had murdered an Afghan man with a prosthetic leg. The judge in the initial case concluded he was "callous and inhumane" enough to take that leg back home, where soldiers were encouraged to use it as a drinking vessel. Mr Roberts-Smith was not in court for the decision on Friday, and he has now been ordered to pay costs. He says he continues to deny the "egregious spiteful allegations" against him, adding: "I have only ever asked for a fair and just hearing - that has not occurred." Nick McKenzie, the journalist who made the allegations in his articles, said the war veteran must be held accountable before the criminal justice system. He paid tribute to the soldiers who spoke out, as well as the "Afghan children and women who have lost their fathers and husbands". "It should not be left to journalists and brave soldiers to stand up to a war criminal. Australian authorities must hold Ben Roberts-Smith accountable before our criminal justice system," he said.
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia
When he approved a campaign to reopen shipping in the Red Sea by bombing the Houthi militant group into submission, President Trump wanted to see results within 30 days of the initial strikes two months ago. By Day 31, Mr. Trump, ever leery of drawn-out military entanglements in the Middle East, demanded a progress report, according to administration officials. But the results were not there. The United States had not even established air superiority over the Houthis. Instead, what was emerging after 30 days of a stepped-up campaign against the Yemeni group was another expensive but inconclusive American military engagement in the region. The Houthis shot down several American MQ-9 Reaper drones and continued to fire at naval ships in the Red Sea, including an American aircraft carrier. And the U.S. strikes burned through weapons and munitions at a rate of about $1 billion in the first month alone. It did not help that two $67 million F/A-18 Super Hornets from America's flagship aircraft carrier tasked with conducting strikes against the Houthis accidentally tumbled off the carrier into the sea. By then, Mr. Trump had had enough. Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, who was already in Omani-mediated nuclear talks with Iran, reported that Omani officials had suggested what could be a perfect offramp for Mr. Trump on the separate issue of the Houthis, according to American and Arab officials. The United States would halt the bombing campaign and the militia would no longer target American ships in the Red Sea, but without any agreement to stop disrupting shipping that the group deemed helpful to Israel. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
