Is the SAS being politicised?

The Prime Minister John Key has stated that the SAS corps remain in Afghanistan, in part, because they want to. I recall that he made that statement at least once this year. Whether John Key appreciates what he has said or not, he has intimated that the NZ armed forces play a role in political decisions when that can never be the case. NZ is a democracy and what any part of the armed forces 'want' to do isn't on the same page. No soldier I know, believes he carries more than the responsibility to serve his country, no matter what he might want else to do.

I wonder when it was that John Key chatted with the SAS about what they wanted to do, or when he could even think that political policy was in part played by the military. There is something wrong here. After those comments by the Prime Minister I recall a recent announcement that the elite force, SAS, was to be made a preference for new recruits that they could flag on their entry into the armed services - all chummy chummy like the road ahead was flag posted in some comfortable, convenient way.

In the last week SAS Corporal Doug Grant was killed while on a rescue mission in Kabul. He was shot and killed by what, according to released photos, was a gunfire from his right, unprotected flank. Something doesn't ring true about that, something operational is amiss - that he should be covering others in a vulnerable position to fire and not being covered himself. Of course the SAS, we are led to believe, is in a training role in Afghanistan despite the fact that we know they have featured in firefights and covert operations for many years. Today the 'Scotsman' newspaper makes the claim that the SAS were delayed by up to 4 hours on their mission to rescue hostages by conflict between Police and local military as to who was in charge.

If that is true and there was a delay, and confusion about who was in control, could explain why Corporal Doug Grant's right flank was left exposed while he performed other operations from a vulnerable to fire position. It could also mean that the SAS are being compromised by political ambition of government. There is little doubt that SAS and all troops serving overseas are part of a larger political plan. However, this revelation is very raw, in part it declares that the SAS are involved in operations over which they have no direct control as they risk their lives, and that therefore they're put to risk because of political designs.