‘Oh Well, Just Keep Shooting C---s’:
Orientalism and Australian War Crimes in Afghanistan

On 19 November 2020, Australians were made aware that certain allegations which were put forth by the media regarding the conduct of our armed forces in Afghanistan had substance. A heavily redacted report had been handed down by Major Paul Brereton, and in a press conference, Chief of Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, explained that there seemed to be truth to some of these claims. There had been allegations reported by the media for several years leading up to this point, including the ABC’s Four Corners program in 2011. While the allegations had first been made by the Australian media, the confirmation came from the Australian Defence Force, with the news that these events were not being swept under the rug, and that charges were being laid against several members of the Australian Defence Force, following recommendations made by Major Paul Brereton, a judge in New South Wales’ Court of Appeal, who had been appointed to investigate the allegations. In addition, the squadron about which most substantiable claims had been made, the 2nd Squadron of the Special Air Service Regiment, was disbanded. It was found that were legitimate allegations that ‘Australia’s highest decorated soldier’, Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, had committed war crimes. He is among those under investigation by the Australian Federal Police. The following essay explores this background briefly, before discussing the work of Edward Said which will be used as a way to explain how some of these events could have taken place.