David Fisher in The Herald, continuing great work on Operation Burnham:
Investigation: NZDF blunders again over NZSAS raid as fresh details emerge
There has been a second embarrassing blunder over photographs taken during the top secret NZSAS raid in Afghanistan called Operation Burnham.
First the NZ Defence Force said there were none – and the NZ Herald showed it was wrong.
Then they said there was only one camera taking photographs – and now the Herald has proved that was wrong too.
The NZ Defence force is blaming an “administrative error” but it has led to further claims of a cover-up. …
Read on for details of the NZDF’s changing story, how metadata in the supplied digital images proved the claim that only one NZ camera was in use to be wrong, and speculation about what the image timestamps mean for the timeline.
The shifting position over the existence of photographs and the one camera which became two cameras also came in for criticism from [Intelligence analyst Dr Paul] Buchanan.
He said there was evidence of a “cover-up culture” in NZDF. “There seems to be at (senior level) a reluctance to admit mistakes happen.”
Hager said it was hard to accept the issues around the cameras and photographs was an “administrative error”.
“It completely lacks credibility to suggest the SAS would go on their biggest and most important raid in their whole time in Afghanistan and take just five photographs.
“The idea on such an important raid they would delete all but five photographs because they would need the space on the cameras just isn’t believable.
“I’m absolutely certain that what we’re seeing is part of the ongoing cover-up.” …
In refusing a full inquiry, Bill English has made himself a party to any cover-up.
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