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Source: ONE News -
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"Tired and sweaty" Victoria Cross hero Willie Apiata was photographed in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul earlier this week, moments after he came out of a building where three bodies were found.
Photographs of Corporal Apiata, a member of New Zealand's elite Special Air Service unit, and another SAS soldier were published by several New Zealand media outlets on Thursday and on Friday after being taken by French freelance photographer Philip Poupin.
He told The Dominion Post he saw the elite Kiwi soldiers emerge from a building where the insurgents' bodies were later found, after the Taliban attack on Afghanistan's Presidential Palace on Monday.
The publication of the photographs broke what the Defence Force called a "robust gentleman's agreement" it had with the media not to reveal SAS soldiers on active deployment overseas because it could put them in danger.
Poupin says he saw a "tired and sweaty" Apiata emerge from the building where the bodies of the three insurgents were found.
"They were really close to the insurgents ... they were there to fight," Poupin told the newspaper.
He says when the battle subsided he went inside the building and saw the three bodies.
"I can't tell you if the New Zealanders were directly fighting with the insurgents ... but I could say they were right there," he told the newspaper.
Prime Minister John Key earlier this week said that the SAS's had a "very limited" role in the battle and and fired no shots.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said on Thursday that the SAS members were not as close to the fighting as Poupin suggested.
Key says Cpo Apiata would probably stay in Afghanistan until the end of his deployment.
Dominion Post editor Bernadette Courtney says the paper published Cpl Apiata's photograph because it was the first picture of New Zealand SAS troops in Kabul after they responded to a Taliban attack.
She says Cpl Apiata was a war hero who requested to return to Afghanistan. He was paraded in front of the public and the media here and around the world when he won his Victoria Cross.
"We don't believe media here have placed Corporal Apiata or any of the other SAS members at any greater risk than they already are," she says.
The New Zealand Herald says journalist who broke the story of the SAS joining the counterattack against a Taliban strike was surprised at the reaction in New Zealand.
Afghanistan-based New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins, in a blog posted to the newspaper's website yesterday, wrote: "New Zealand? At war? Who knew? Not a lot of New Zealanders, apparently."
"The news ... that a team of commandos from New Zealand had joined Afghan soldiers at the scene caused a sensation in the little country off the coast of Australia," he wrote.
Filkins says he spotted the New Zealand soldiers as they moved in to Pashtunistan Square, the site of the Taliban attack, which killed five people and wounded at least 70.
He says one told him to: "Get out of here".
"I saw the patch on his arm announcing his country. Others were more friendly. `Can't talk now, mate,' said another with a smile."
The Herald's assistant editor John Roughan says the paper stood by the decision to use the picture which, he said, had real news value.
"The soldiers were in a public street, in a major city, visible to anybody, wearing their uniforms, carrying their guns, photographed as the New Zealand SAS," he says.
Cpl Apiata won his Victoria Cross in Afghanistan for rescuing a wounded comrade in 2004.
What do you think about identifying SAS soldiers? Have your say on the messageboard below
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentGetrealpeps said on 2010-01-27 @ 16:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
The soldiers there have enough on their plate without having to watch their backs even further. Why not paint a big target on NZ for radicals after highlighting that we absolutely irrefutebly have SAS on ops. Perhaps they should bring Willy back and have him explain face to face to the photographer and NZ Herald.
iwiknz said on 2010-01-26 @ 23:49 NZDT: Report abusive post
what a dumb thing to say that he should be careful about photos taken of him did he ask the photographer to take it and then stand and pose for the picture knowing that he and others could be put in danger
joev said on 2010-01-26 @ 19:06 NZDT: Report abusive post
I am an ex Soldier and believe that this is both careless and thoughtless for the press to even consider publishing pictures that would identify our SAS personnel. How do you stop a soldier? the greatest weapon the enemy have is their family, Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children. If they are prepared to take their battle to the USA what makes you think they won't bring it to NZ. we already have moslems in NZ which of them are radical enough to attack the families of our soldiers serving overseas
Veteran44 said on 2010-01-23 @ 13:24 NZDT: Report abusive post
Publication of the photograph was very wrong. Obviously the people resonsible have never been in a dangerous situation while in service to their Country. It would be very easy to obtain the location of his Family and then it needs only one fanatic to cause them harm. Hopefully the Army will ensure their ongoing protection. I suppose the guilty Editors are proud of their dangerous and I believe, treasonable actions.
molynz said on 2010-01-23 @ 10:20 NZDT: Report abusive post
Being compromised in theatre is completely unacceptable. Special forces rely on a covert presence to work effectively so this is totally irresponsible by the media.