Full story of Afghan war kept ‘classified’

Two New Zealand and four Afghan soldiers died in the Battle of Baghak in 2012.

A former Defence Force boss has called on New Zealand to examine our part in the war in Afghanistan, as a new documentary reveals secret details about operations involving our soldiers.

‘‘Afghanistan is a story that I don’t think the public really knows what we were doing over there,’’ retired Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said in an interview as part of Stuff Circuit‘s The Valley documentary series. Jones said he was proud of what was achieved but admits there are things which the public did not know about, or did not know the full story. He is one of several former NZDF personnel interviewed as part of the series but serving staff were ordered not to front. The Valley investigates why New Zealand became involved in the war - launched in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - and what was achieved. It also uncovers previously secret details about several operations New Zealand soldiers were involved in.

One of those incidents is the 2012 Battle of Baghak, in which two New Zealand and four Afghan soldiers died.

The investigation reveals how aspects of the court of inquiry into the battle are wrong. Crucially, the inquiry report places insurgents in a location where Stuff Circuit has obtained evidence there were none, undermining the conclusions of the New Zealand military investigation. There are also questions about who fired first, and who New Zealand forces were firing at. Stuff Circuit has also learned that a secret report on the battle is being hidden by the NZDF. Sources describe the report as ‘‘much more balanced’’ and say it was written by Lieutenant Colonel Eugene Whakahoehoe. He was sent to Bamyan to conduct an investigation in parallel with the official court of inquiry.

Helen Thomasen, mother of one of the fallen soldiers, Lance Corporal Rory Malone, has called on the Defence Force to be open about what happened.

‘‘I wanted to know the ins and outs, the truth, you know?,’’ she told Stuff Circuit. ‘‘Don’t cover it up - I want to know how my boy got killed.

‘‘I think there was a situation that got out of hand. I think there was a situation where they had no experience in dealing with. I think things went very wrong that day and I think Rory would’ve been shocked, is what I think.’’

The Whakahoehoe report has never been publicly released, so Stuff Circuit sought a copy under the Official Information Act.

The Defence Force would not release it. ‘‘This documentation remains classified,’’ wrote Commodore Ross Smith, the Defence Force chief of staff.

Releasing the report would provide insight into operational capability and tactics, Smith said.

Stuff Circuit has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to review NZDF’S decision.

Media lawyer Steven Price, of Victoria University, said he believed Defence sometimes did not want to release information that would embarrass it or lead to criticism. ‘‘There is, I think, a sense of entitlement to withhold information in some agencies, and I think that’s there at the Defence Force. I think there’s also a sense that: you can’t handle the truth; we deal with this stuff daily, we understand the context, we understand that in a way that you never can, and as soon as we put it out there it’s just going to create trouble for us and people are going to stir, but they don’t really understand what it’s like, and so we just don’t want to go there if we can avoid it.’’

Whakahoehoe was serving with the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul at the time of the battle. A highly-respected officer, he is now in charge of the 2nd/1st Battalion as commanding officer at Burnham Military Camp.