ABC ‘manipulated’ my war crimes quotes: US DEA leader

A “furious” Bret Hamilton has demanded the ABC remove another war crimes story, claiming he was misrepresented when talking about Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. Watch the video

A former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) leader has demanded the ABC remove another war crimes story, claiming he was misrepresented and taken out of context.

Bret Hamilton, who agreed to an interview with veteran journalist Mark Willacy, said he felt his comments had been portrayed by the public broadcaster to infer he was calling for a specific investigation into Australian soldiers.

He also believed Willacy initially informed him he was researching a “positive” story about the relationship between the DEA and Australian specialist troops attached to Task Force 66.

“They manipulated my sound bite. The story should absolutely be taken down. And it should be taken down with an apology” Mr Hamilton said.

“I was under the impression that he (Willacy) would use me to tell all the positive things there were to say about Task Force 66.”

US DEA leader Bret Hamilton said his war crimes comments had been “manipulated” by the ABC. Picture: Supplied

The Daily Telegraph has obtained the unedited audio and video of Mr Hamilton’s two conversations with Willacy, and compared them to what eventually went to air on program 7:30.

In the first discussion over the phone in November 2021, Mr Willacy is heard assuring Mr Hamilton he was “interested in doing something positive … about the actual achievements you guys racked up with the (Australian) Commandos at some point.

“I’m not too interested in going down the road of this negative stuff” Willacy said.

The pair then conducted a secondary interview on camera, which lasted for 35 minutes and where Mr Hamilton was overwhelmingly positive about his dealings with Task Force 66.

ABC Investigations Reporter Mark Willacy told Bret Hamilton he was working on a “positive” story about Australian and US operations. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Towards the end, Mr Willacy asked an open-ended question about possible war crimes: “philosophically, from a reflective point of view, should those sorts of things be investigated? And if they are, should everyone be investigated? How do you approach that issue of potential war crimes on the ground?”

Mr Hamilton responded: “look, alleged war crimes should always be investigated. Absolutely. We have to, and I will say they have to be investigated through the eyes of a soldier, in combat. But yes, they should definitely be investigated.

“We’re civilised nations. We’ve got to be able to show that we’ve held our soldiers accountable when we’ve proven beyond any reasonable doubt that they’ve committed crimes.”

However - when Willacy’s story went to air on the ABC on September 21, 2022, Mr Hamilton said he was appalled to discover how his quotes had been used.

He felt his remarks about war crimes were presented out of context at the conclusion of a 12 minute video package, where Willacy had reported Afghan prisoners were allegedly executed by Australian soldiers.

Bret Hamilton appearing on the ABC in September 2022. He has demanded the public broadcaster remove the story. Picture: ABC

A transcript from the final ABC story reads:

Willacy: “the Commandos of Task Force 66 were also there to lay the groundwork for a peaceful and politically stable Afghanistan. But in a war with no clear battle lines, it appears those objectives may have been forgotten by a handful of soldiers.”

Australian Soldier: “you just got f***ed by Task Force 66.”

Hamilton: “yes, they should definitely be investigated, we’ve got to be able to show that we’ve held our soldiers accountable.”

The ABC is in damage control after being forced to delete a separate story following revelations by Channel 7 it had added 6 gunshots to a video of Australian soldiers conducting a helicopter mission in Afghanistan.

Several other war crimes reports were removed last year after Willacy and the ABC lost a defamation case against retired Special Forces Commander Heston Russell, who was wrongly linked to a criminal investigation.

This masthead has put a range of questions to Mark Willacy, ABC publicity and chairperson Kim Williams on Tuesday but did not receive a response.

Originally published as ABC ‘manipulated’ my war crimes quotes: US DEA leader