Whistleblower who exposed Australian war crimes, David McBride, admits to his actions

David McBride, a whistleblower who played a critical role in exposing allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, has now pleaded guilty to leaking classified information. Originally, McBride was set to go to trial next week but he ultimately changed his plea after a legal ruling that hindered his defense. As a former military lawyer, McBride explained that he felt a moral obligation to speak out after his internal complaints were disregarded. An inquiry of great significance later revealed evidence supporting the claims that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war. McBride has now admitted to providing a large amount of documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which served as the foundation for a series of reports entitled The Afghan Files, published in 2017. These reports shed light on the operations conducted by Australia's elite special forces in Afghanistan and included allegations of war crimes. In 2019, McBride was arrested and faced charges of theft of Commonwealth property, violating the Defense Act, and unauthorized disclosure of information.