Another Kiwi death in Afghanistan

Written By: - Date published: 6:38 pm, September 28th, 2011 - 18 comments
Categories: afghanistan - Tags: ,

There have been several reports, here’s one from Stuff:

Kiwi soldier killed in Afghanistan, PM confirms

Prime Minister John Key this afternoon confirmed a second SAS soldier was shot dead while on a mission to prevent an attack on Kabul.

There are currently about 35 SAS soldiers in Kabul mentoring the Afghan police Crisis Response Unit. …

In a press conference at Parliament, Key said the soldier was shot during an operation in Wardak province, near Kabul, this morning (NZ time). …

The Defence Force was working on a post-activity report and reveal further information on the incident tomorrow.

“He was evacuated by helicopter to a base where the top military neurosurgeon in Afghanistan and his team were operating from. Unfortunately he died on the operating table,” Jones said.

Jones said the Special Air Service (SAS) were reacting to information about a team preparing to launch an attack on Kabul.

Time to bring all Kiwi soldiers in Afghanistan home.

18 comments on “Another Kiwi death in Afghanistan ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    I heard about this, this afternoon, and just about puked when I heard our two faced PM give the affected family “his condolences”.

    The fact that him and his Government are still trying to hide our special forces involvement in a full war-fighting effort backing the Americans in Afghanistan is shit. Doubly so because this has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 sourced “global terrorism” which Key always manages to bring up in the same breath.

    Key is a little approval seeking poodle.

  2. RobM 2

    Alas Key and Jones, more platitudes and nonsense from the top:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10755025

    “They are playing their critical part in trying to free the world from the threat of global terrorism, but obviously it’s a very sad day for New Zealand.”

    Mr Key said plans to withdraw the troops next March remained the same.

    Defence Force Chief Lieutenant-General Rhys Jones said the man was one of 15 Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers that responded to information about a planned attack in the Afghan capital Kabul.

    “The operation was to disrupt that attack before it occurred, we seem to have hit upon a group that was willing to fight back,” Lt Gen Jones said.”

  3. Anthony 3

    What a waste.

    • infused 3.1

      Yes it would be, if we were to bring them home.

      • Rijab 3.1.1

        and why do you think we should keep them there? To fight the Taliban, who are not in any way connected to al qaeda any more?

        We’re fighting in a civil war.

        The Afghan people want us to leave, why should we stay?

        • thatguynz 3.1.1.1

          Notwithstanding the dubious origins of “Al Qaeda”, they’re way too busy doing NATO’s bidding in Libya to worry about anything going on in Afghanistan… Libyan rebels my arse..

          Nonetheless, one of ours has fallen. A family has lost a father, son and brother and with them I stand side by side and grieve their loss. John Key and his American lovefest can however go swing.

      • bbfloyd 3.1.2

        in(con)fused…so you’re going to stand up beside “old pink eyes” and claim that being liked by the americans is worth the lives it costs? even a fool would know that this is no more than toadying…. maybe that’s why sparkle is looking like he’s lining up for a stroke…. (bloodclot in the brain)… the effort of maintaining this particular fiction is overtaxing his ability to tell blatant lies with a straight face…

      • Anthony 3.1.3

        Afganistan has been a lost cause since Iraq was invaded. As if the Taliban can be militarily defeated when they draw recruits from a radicalized population and radicalized region.

  4. Afewknowthetruth 4

    There was a time when NZ was ‘happy’ to lose one young man a minute in the defence of ‘the empire’. How times have changed…….. and stayed the same.

    So, NZ is still defending the money-lenders ‘right’ to invade soveriegn nations, turn them into debt slaves and steal their resources. And the hypocrisy at the top remains the same.

    If Key is so keen on invading other nations let him go and do it in person.

  5. Another Pointless Death

    Today it was reported that another SAS soldier has died in Afghanistan. The man is the second New Zealand SAS soldier to be killed in combat, following the death of Corporal Doug Grant last month. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, New Zealand Lieutenant General, Rhys Jones is continuing the false pretense that the soldier killed was undertaking a mentoring role…

  6. millsy 6

    My first thought when hearing of this death was that perhaps the NZSAS are being deliberately targeted by the ‘bad guys’. IMO the ‘pin up boy’ status that the Defence Force and the government are conferring on Willie Apiata (and the recklessness of the media in publishing photos of him) have perhaps made him a prized target among the Taliban warlords.

    Voicing (or typing) this theory may not make me flavour of the month here (or anywhere), but its yet another reason why we should pull the SAS out..