When he sent the SAS to Afghanistan (without a Parliamentary vote), John Key followed the usual playbook: no information would be provided on what they were doing or where - on what kiwi troops were risking their lives for and how - under the guise of "operational secrecy". Fortunately, other countries don't suffer from this disease, and so thanks to the Norwegians, we now know what the SAS is doing in Afghanistan:
General Sverre Diesen told the Oslo- based newspaper VG last week that the SAS would replace a Norwegian special forces contingent that has been based at Kabul and recently completed an 18-month deployment.And now that we know this, it is worth asking again why the government tried to keep it secret. Knowing where the SAS is doesn't help the Taliban in any way. But it does help us hold our government accountable for their decision. And the inescapable conclusion is that that is precisely what Key wants to avoid.The Norwegians had been involved in the arrest of "several wanted insurgent leaders responsible for planning and running suicide attacks against targets in the Kabul region", Diesen said.
The SAS would "take over" from the Norwegians, who were involved in counter-narcotics work as well as "frustrating the efforts of suicide bombers who were looking to create a bloodbath in Kabul around the presidential election".
