Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour

by Nicky Hager & Jon Stephenson

In August 2010, a New Zealand soldier died in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. In retailiation, the NZ SAS led a raid on two isolated villages in search of the fighters they suspected were responsible.

This book details the events - it is, at heart, about the meaning of honour; about who we want to be and what we believe in as New Zealanders

Genres: War, Nonfiction, True Crime

159 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2017

Reviews

[Mandy Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so Nicky is my brother, so I am biased. My bias comes from knowing him for 57 years and knowing he is honest and ethical to a fault. So, too, Jon Stephenson is a world class war reporter and journalist. They put a solid case for questions to be asked via an independent inquiry - and have put their careers on the line. I trust them. I do not trust the NZ Defence Force, who, rather than be horrified at the thought they may have caused civilian deaths, have gone into attack the messenger mode. They should be ashamed on so many levels.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I'd recommend to any New Zealander, especially those who lionise the NZDF because of how "honourable" they (allegedly) act compared to other forces like that of the US.

Unless you've been living abroad, or under a rock, you've probably already read, watched and/or heard a number of stories about this book. I have to admit that when I first read it I wondered if I'd find anything that I hadn't already heard, but there's a lot more to the story than the raid on two villages in Tirgiran (not a single village called Tirgiran, as the NZDF and some earlier TV stories have erroneously claimed), and it's all equally important to know about. Even the extra detail about the raid alone is worth the read.

There's a lot of cynicism about the authors' - especially Hager's - intentions in releasing this during an election year. After the outcome of the last election, I seriously doubt that someone with Nicky Hager's clarity of thought is going to be under any illusions that his books are going to make much on an impact on the election's outcome, especially in a post-fact world where people simply don't care about the truth; where a cadre of conservative New Zealanders wilfully ignore inconvenient facts in favour of blind partisanship (and, woe, I know just as many Greens as NZ First and Conservative voters who do this); where the faces of NZ news media, like Mike Hosking, deny the contents of a book they haven't read, when they only have the barest grasp of those contents, purely because they disagree with Hager's politics.

However, for those of us who do still care about the truth, about justice and honour – for those of us who do care about the image of the NZDF and of New Zealand as a whole, even the xenophobes and Islamophobes among us – this is an important book.

[Hannah Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

The message is 100. But it sometimes read like a text book - a little dry.

[Laurence · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding piece of investigative journalism.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

“Imagine someone kills a police officer here in Auckland, and he’s hiding out in his home with his partner and children. It would be outrageous for the New Zealand police to arrive and shoot at everyone, all around. They’d never do that. They’d be legally accountable. They’d be prosecuted. So why is it okay in Afghanistan against Afghans and not in New Zealand? Is it because they know they can do it without punishment, or was it that they know the Tirgiran Valley is so isolated that no one will ever find out?”

So said one NZ officer involved in the disastrous Operation Burnham, the violent raid on the villagers of Tirgiran in Afghanistan, which took place in October 2010. This was a place so tiny and remote that it was more than 6 hours walk from the nearest road. This attack was actually a so called “Revenge raid” payback for the killing of Tim O’Donnell in a roadside attack in August 2010. Ten days later they would embark on a second night time raid.

The sheer scale of senseless and meaningless death described here is depressing as it is heart breaking. The US military is renowned for its notoriously immature and volatile attitude towards anyone or any country who dares to question their actions, never having to answer to anyone, claiming credit, whilst avoiding responsibility for the murder and chaos they create, but to see New Zealand embroiled in the same sort of terror is certainly an eye opener.

Apparently as the American’s were blowing up civilian houses and killing an infant in their Apache helicopters, the NZ’s SAS men were bravely hunting down a fifty-something farmer and a trainee, student teacher (three bullets to the chest) and other innocent men, women and children. Due to the vague and dubious nature of the Allies reporting on the killings, the finer details are not 100% certain. But we do know for sure that, “Afghan and coalition force” really means planned and carried out by NZ SAS with a token Afghan presence for PR.

Ignorance, violence and impunity are a dangerous combination and we already know that the US forces and their Allied cohorts too often get away with it. Hager and Stephenson reveal John Key and his National government’s clumsy cover up for what it is, arrogant, entitled white men, who still believe that war crimes don’t really count when you speak English.

This is a shocking story and Hager and Stephenson have produced a really important piece of investigative journalism. Credit must also go to the members of the NZ SAS who were honest enough to come forward to speak to the authors and express the fears and regrets over the attack and its repercussions. Hager remains one of the boldest and most important journalists working in NZ today, as someone who routinely challenges authority and questions the powerful, exposing uncomfortable truths and other lies.

[Ian Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear, very thorough, just the right length, full of evidence and quite disturbing. War is unpleasant, peacekeeping is often not peaceful, people make horrible mistakes and we expect our military to own up and deal with the consequences. It's clear that there was a cover-up of this incident and of what followed. The people most involved in the coverup were the ones who should have lead an admission of error and an attempt to make amends. Instead they appear to have been less than completely honest with their political masters and then enjoyed promotions. Even more disturbingly, SAS commanders are now over-represented in the highest echelons of the defence establishment, some of them apparently complicit in the cover-up. The SAS have always had mechanisms which allow the deniability of the operations. It's time this was terminated as the motivations and actions of our allies diverge from ours but nonetheless bleed into the attitudes and actions of our military. Thanks Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager. Politicians - be brave - lets have an open enquiry.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relays horrific events. I'm giving it five stars due to what it achieved,as it is a piece of investigative journalism that led the govt to open an Inquiry.

The Inquiry's report should be read afterwards and can be found here: https://operationburnham.inquiry.govt...

[Rob Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly appears to be a cover up, therefore a very sad indictment on our proud NZ military history.

[David Curry · Rating 1 out of 5]

The irony of journalists talking about honour. Glad I picked it up from a charity bookfair for a $1.50 - at least that went to a good cause.

[Annie Wrigley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethics and secrets!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

As incendiary and dramatic as any of Hager’s previous books, this one takes aim at the higher echelons of the New Zealand SAS and their seemingly blasé approach to civilian deaths that took place at their hands. The book itself suffers from hasty production and has an amateurish, Masters-Thesis feel about it. Still, the allegations are gripping and far-reaching in their scope. As with all of Hager’s books (Dirty Politics in particular) this one is tied closely to the zeitgeist of the day and will quickly fade into obscurity once the initial emotive reactions to the scandal wear off. Still, worth reading while the officials it skewers are still relatively relevant to the New Zealand political landscape.

[Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a New Zealander, I find the subject of this book deeply disturbing. Easy to read and well-laid out. This book has generated a storm of controversy, and much comment by people who haven't actually read it. Well worth a read.