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To say William "Billy" Waugh was a legend in the Special Forces community is more than an understatement. He was very nearly mythological.

The unparalleled godfather of the Green Berets, and CIA septuagenarian at the spearhead of early operations in Afghanistan, passed away Tuesday. He was 93.

Waugh was on any short list of famed operators who deployed to the Korean, Vietnam and Afghanistan wars, serving in dozens of countries in his more than 50-year career with Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency.

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In Vietnam, he was almost fatally wounded, later receiving a Silver Star. Despite the wounds, he returned to the war after recovering at Walter Reed. In the '70s, he was the first soldier to conduct a high-altitude, low-opening jump -- known as a HALO jump, now a staple in the special operations repertoire.

When he finished his military career at the rank of sergeant major, Waugh had earned the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, more than a dozen Army Air Medals, and a bevy of other awards, according to 1st Special Forces Command, which announced his passing this week.

"From Korea to Afghanistan and every conflict in between, I have fought whomever my country ordered me to fight," Waugh wrote in his autobiography, "Hunting the Jackal." "For 50 years in 64 countries, I have sought and destroyed my country's enemies -- whether they be called communists or terrorists -- wherever they hide."

While Waugh is known for his daring feats and fabled accolades, he was also a lifelong supporter of the military communities that formed him. In turn, he formed them under the shadow of his likeness, never losing his Texas heart, keen wit and indomitable spirit.

At the end of World War II, Waugh, who was born in Texas, ran off to join the Marines at the age of 15, hitchhiking 650 miles across the New Mexico desert. He made it as far as Las Cruces before getting picked up by police for failing to have any identification or "any f---ing money," as he would later recount in an interview with RECOILtv.

"So, I hitchhiked across New Mexico and got dumped out in the desert and it began there," he said. Momentarily hampered, Waugh returned to his hometown of Bastrop, Texas, for a belt-whipping from his mother and eventually a high school diploma.

In August 1948, six months after he turned 18, Waugh joined the Army as a paratrooper, going on to jump out of "a heck of a lot of aircraft."

"I didn't like the Army at all until I got a taste of combat in Korea," he wrote. Waugh rose through the ranks quickly during the Korean War. A spirited and determined man had finally found his place in life -- and it was on the battlefield.

"For the first time in my life, I felt completely at home," he wrote.

In 1952, Waugh attempted to complete Officer Candidate School, but the operator powers that be knew he was needed in the enlisted corps. After contracting malaria in the final weeks of the course, he was placed in the hospital and told he had to revert back to an earlier week.

Instead, he kept his rank of sergeant first class and was assigned as a platoon sergeant in Germany. It was there that he began to hear whispers of the Special Forces -- the Green Berets, the infamous and deadly snake-eaters, who came into existence as an organization in the early 1950s.

"I began politicking for a transfer to SF, and I made a trip to Bad Tolz, [Germany] to see for myself," he wrote. "Once I learned what these fine men -- the fittest and most committed group I had ever seen -- were to become, I knew it was the only place for me."

On June 18, 1965, Waugh was nearly dead in a rice paddy. He was the team sergeant for A Team, 5th Special Forces Group, and had been in and out of Vietnam for the last four years.

He and three other Green Berets, including then-Capt. Paris Davis, who just last month was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that June, were leading a company of inexperienced South Vietnamese soldiers on a raid near the east coast of the country along the South China Sea.

There, after midnight, Waugh, A Team and 86 Vietnamese "mercenaries," as he called them, killed upward of 100 enemies in a stronghold. His actions there earned him the Silver Star.

But after the raid, the South Vietnamese became unorganized, and soon hundreds of enemy fighters counterattacked and pinned the group to a knoll overlooking rice paddies where Waugh was lying near death.

Waugh had taken Vietnamese bullets to his ankle, knees and forehead, wounds that would contribute to his eight Purple Hearts. He was not afraid to die, per se, but rather worried he might never do the thing he loved again.

"I drifted in and out of consciousness, my body perforated with gunshot wounds, leeches feasting on every open wound, with one thought jabbing at my semilucid brain," he wrote. "Damn, my military career is finished. I'll never see combat again."

That, of course, never came to pass -- the operator powers that be again had other plans for Waugh when Davis pulled his near-lifeless body out of the feces-laden paddy and put him on a helicopter.

Davis did not leave a single member of his team behind that day, and would go on to earn the Medal of Honor in March after decades of supporters fighting for its upgrade from a Silver Star.

When Davis was home in 1969, explaining to the public the perils he and his team faced that day, Waugh was recovered and back in Vietnam with the highly classified Military Assistance Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, or MACV-SOG, where he trained Vietnamese fighters in unconventional warfare.

It was with this team that Waugh conducted the first HALO jump into communist North Vietnamese Army-occupied territory as a sergeant major, according to his book and 1st Special Forces Command, one that was done without any of the high-tech night vision devices or altimeters seen in Special Forces today.

"I am saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Waugh, a friend and a great American soldier," Davis told Military.com on Wednesday.

"Billy served our country with distinction, honor and dedication to serving selflessly on behalf of all American citizens," he said. "I remember him as one of the best soldiers I have ever served with in combat. May God bless him and keep him forever."

Davis signed the message as "an admirer and teammate."

Waugh retired in 1972 and returned to Texas for a brief stint with the U.S. Postal Service. "After nearly twenty years in SF, much of it in combat, sorting mail doesn't scratch the same itch," he wrote. "Not even close."

Five years later, Waugh wrote he received a mysterious phone call from an old Special Forces friend. "Billy, are you ready to travel?" the voice asked over the receiver.

And travel Billy did. For the next three decades, he worked as a CIA operative in dozens of countries, starting first in Libya spying on the Soviet-aligned government. There, he honed his skill with a 35mm camera, a craft that would serve him well in his career with the agency.

Between the '70s and '80s, Waugh took on more heavy-duty assignments with the CIA, anywhere from the Marshall Islands to Sudan.

In 2001, when most retired soldiers and spooks would be enjoying their golden years, Waugh was celebrating his 72nd birthday in Afghanistan. He was still with the CIA, this time hunting Osama bin Laden in the caves and high plains of Tora Bora.

He was a rare feature of war, a man who stood at the forefront of America's two most infamous insurgent conflicts -- a fact and position that was certainly not lost on him.

"Two weeks earlier, when the United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III headed for Afghanistan lifted off with me aboard, our country was officially embarking on its War on Terror," he wrote. "I, however, had been at war against terror for quite some time. To me, Operation Enduring Freedom was a natural extension of the work I'd been conducting for close to fifty years."

But Waugh was also a fixture in the Special Forces community up until his death this week. Current and former Special Forces members took to social media to share their stories of meeting Billy Waugh.

1st Special Forces Command wrote on social media: "Our condolences go out to Billy's family, friends, and loved ones. He will be missed. We will always honor and remember him."

The Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School said, "He was a pioneer and an American hero who will be missed by many."

Joseph Teti, a co-star of the Discovery Channel's show "Dual Survival" and a former operator, including nearly a decade of service with the Green Berets, said he met Waugh twice while they were both in the CIA.

"I actually saw Billy one time prior," Teti told Military.com on Thursday, recounting one of his first years at the agency. "I knew who he was and I was -- quite frankly -- just too intimidated to even go up to the guy."

Teti would meet Waugh again, this time in early-2000s Afghanistan at a hotel bar. Waugh invited him to have a drink.

"He was just cordial, very nice," Teti said. "When he talks, you just shut up and listen; he was one of those guys that was just such a wealth of knowledge."

Another MACV-SOG alumnus, Jesse Campbell, was with Waugh at the time. Teti told them he admired a picture of them that was hanging on the wall of the bar. It was from their Vietnam days. Waugh asked the bartender to take it down, and he and Campbell both signed it.

The top of the image read, "Joe, kill all the bad guys."

"He handed it to me. You could have knocked me over with a feather duster. ... He didn't know me from a can of paint," Teti said, adding that talking to Waugh "was almost like you were talking to a family member."

Teti rattled his accolades, a condition that many in the community have when it comes to the legend of Billy Waugh. Teti said that Waugh was as "tough as woodpecker lips" and harder than "Superman's kneecaps" to do what he did for as long as he did it for.

"It's staggering," he said. "It's a testament to how good of an operator he was -- to physically survive what he was doing in such austere and dangerous high-threat environments."

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: Paris Davis, Black Green Beret in Vietnam, Finally Awarded Medal of Honor at White House

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From Korea to Afghanistan: Special Forces Legend Billy Waugh's Amazing Career Spanned Five Decades - Military.com

FORWARD AND INTRODUCTION

Twenty-two years ago, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000) based on the recognition that peace and security are not achievable without the active and meaningful participation of women. Despite the passage of nine subsequent resolutions and advances in related policy and practiceall of which together comprise the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda too few women are represented in peace and security decision making. Instead, global security has deteriorated, precipitating a dramatic escalation of military expenditure. At the same time, womens peacebuilding efforts continue to be underfunded and undermined. The realization of peace and security remains distant for far too many. This report highlights areas of notable concern and of progress since that landmark resolution.

Reports of sexual violence are increasing in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Millions of civilians, mostly women, children and older persons, have fled their homes. In Afghanistan, womens rights have been deconstructed by the Taliban and women are painfully absent from public spaces. Across the world, the climate emergency continues to destabilize communities. While there is progress in some countries, in many others, womens rights are being undermined. Cumulatively, this is posing unprecedented challenges to global peace and security. These are challenges that the WPS agenda is uniquely suited to solve. Women peacebuilders are meeting these challenges head on. Despite a lack of funding and other support and, in many cases, at great personal risk, they continue to mobilize constituencies for peace, hold decision-makers accountable, mediate conflict and successfully stand up for human rights

In Colombia, the recently released report by the Truth Commission underscored the grave human rights violations that women experienced during the long years of conflict there. Women activists tireless advocacy and community mobilization have now been validated by the Government, which has committed to implementing the reports recommendations. In Ukraine, UN Womens recent rapid assessment highlighted the many women-focused civil society organizations on the frontlines that serve people even as conflict rages. In every crisis, from the Sahel to Ethiopia to Syria and Haiti and more, we must support such women leaders. We must listen to and respond to their many urgent needs, such as for funding and for a meaningful role in decision-making, whether in relation to humanitarian relief, peace talks or reconstruction plans. The progress to date that this report records is most welcome. However, in the context of the current challenges, we are all impatient for accelerated progress. We need ambitious and strategic responses that close the gender gap and move us towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

I therefore ask that all of us in the multilateral system defend our shared values and commitments with the same determination as has been demonstrated by the womens movement. In honouring womens central roles in finding peaceful solutions, we will foster and benefit from societies that are more just, inclusive and durable. Only these can stop the drivers of conflict and shape a new history, one not of constant crises but of lasting peace.

Executive Director

Ms Sima Bahous

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Women, Peace and Security Annual Report 2020 - 2021 - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb

Australia's Defence chief has declined to say how many senior officers have faced punishment over the damning findings of the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry, but has warned of "uncomfortable days" ahead as more disciplinary action is taken.

In a rare public speaking engagement in Sydney, General Angus Campbell also praised the Ukrainian armed forces, described an apparent intelligence leak from the Pentagon as "serious", and was quizzed on military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing the Lowy Institute, General Campbell hailed the "extraordinarily impressive" work of Ukraine's military in fighting Russia's invasion, but warned the war was likely to be prolonged as long as both sides had the "will" to maintain the fight.

"What we see from the President [Zelenskyy], all the way through the Ukrainian people, is utter commitment to fight to recover Ukraine. Sovereign, territorially, whole, and free," he said.

The general said the material support being provided by Western allies including Australia, as well as the "extraordinary skilland rapidity of learning" shown by Ukrainian forces was the factor most likely to shift the war in favour of the besieged nation.

He noted Russia lacked the same level of "tactical" skill and innovation while adding he was "hopeful of what Ukraine may be able to achieve".

Following his prepared remarks, the Defence chief was asked about whether the ADF was bracing for more war crime charges and reputational damage from the Afghanistan war, a month after the arrest of a veteran from the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR).

"The Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), which is working independent of Defence, has seen a first arrest and charging of a former soldier," General Campbell noted.

"There may be others and that is a matter for the OSI and ultimately then a matter for the Commonwealth's Director of Public Prosecutions.

"I don't look to the question of how do I protect my reputation or the reputation of the Australian Defence Force, instead I ask the question; what is the correct values and behaviours and purpose to which we should be applying our effort and reputation emerges.

"It's really important to support the people who are involved but to recognise that if we have failed as an organisation then we need to face that; and this is part of that story, and we are individually and collectively better for it if we do so.

"You won't see me trying to gloss over these things, and I think that there could be some very uncomfortable days coming forward, a matter for the OSI, a matter for the courts.What matters to me; values, behaviours and mission of the Australian Defence Force that's what builds reputation."

Pressed further on his own view of command responsibility and how many senior officers had faced internal disciplinary action since the handing down of the Brereton report in November 2020, General Campbell declined to give details.

"That work continues, and I am not at liberty to speak to it until it has been completed. But we have undertakenthe work as recommended by Justice Brereton under accountability."

Last yearVeterans' groups demanded the Albanese government pull rank on the Defence chief to prevent him revoking medals over command failures in Afghanistan, before any alleged war crimes were proven in court.

Special forces insiders claim morale at the Perth-based SASR remains at "rock bottom" with many soldiers deciding to voluntarily discharge.

General Campbell saidreports of a likely large intelligence leak in the United States was a "serious" incident, noting that American authorities were now engaging with partners to understand the consequences.

"The issue of maintaining the security of information is critical to the development of national capability and to the trust and confidence across allies and partners. I appreciate this, by reports, it is a serious leak," he said.

"I am not, obviously as a military officer, someone who believes all information should be free and I do believe that there is a national interest in the protection of some information."

General Campbellwas also circumspect when asked about growing tensions between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, and whether Australia could be dragged into a future conflict.

"Anything that undermines the security stability and the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region in which we live is of interest to Australia."

Read this article:
Defence chief Angus Campbell warns of 'uncomfortable days' ahead on Afghanistan war crimes action - ABC News

The man accused of leaking information about Australian soldiers' alleged war crimes in Afghanistan has finally received a trial date, four years after he was charged.

Former military officer and lawyer David McBride faces five charges, including theft, disclosing information in breach of the Crimes Act and unlawfully giving classified information under the Defence Act.

His trial in the ACT Supreme Court will begin in November.

Mr McBride allegedly passed on classified documents to three journalists.

Details of the alleged war crimes were first made public in 2017 in anABC series known as the Afghan Files.

Earlier, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force had commissioned an investigation of"rumours" of potential war crimes, which led to the so-called Brereton report.

That report recommended police investigate 19 special forces soldiers for the alleged murders of 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, and the cruel treatment of two others.

The case against Mr McBride led to a highly publicised Australian Federal Police raid on the ABC's Sydney headquarters in 2019.

Mr McBride had hoped to argue he should be immune from prosecution becausehewas a whistleblower who had acted in the public interest.

But his application was withdrawn last year when the Commonwealth moved to remove key expert evidence from the hearings.

Mr McBride was not in court on Thursday for the short hearing to set his trial date, but he was in Canberra earlier in the week when his supporters protested outside the court.

The trial will run for three weeks, but it is not known whether it will be held in secret.

KieranPender, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Law Centre, urged the federal government to abandon Mr McBride's case, saying it should never have started.

"Whistleblowers who speak up about grave human rights violations should be protected, not prosecuted," Mr Pender said.

"There is no public interest in prosecuting David McBride, who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

"With a trial date now set for late 2023, McBride will have spent more than five years facing punishment by process."

Go here to read the rest:
David McBride to face trial this year as Australian Defence Force investigates alleged Afghanistan war crimes - ABC News

Pak-Afghan relations have many complications and one of them is Torkham, the porous land border both of them share that is the continuous source of trouble.

Afghanistan being a landlocked country heavily dependent upon access to sea for obtaining all goods and Pakistan has provided a transit corridor for letting them transfer their goods back to their country.

However, the Afghan trade corridor is notorious for malpractices and Pakistani authorities continuously complain about them but keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter the transit facility is not withdrawn.

Since after the Afghan Talibans takeover of Kabul the situation at the borders has exacerbated as Pakistani authorities are deeply concerned about the almost free movement of terrorists they allege get safe treatment in Afghanistan particularly after they undertake any terrorist activity in Pakistan.

The situation at Pak-Afghan border usually remains a source of friction between both the countries and it was in the last month of March that the Torkham border remained closed for many days as a deadlock over starting a dialogue prevailed between border officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Pakistani side emphasised that the Afghan government unilaterally closed the border crossing and as a matter of principle they should initiate a dialogue if they want the border to be reopened. It was added that additional forces deployed at the border after the recent firing incident had been withdrawn while the Afghan side too reciprocated by pulling back their reinforcement. Meanwhile, it was reported that some informal contacts were made with the Afghan Taliban authorities urging them to send a delegation for talks.

The local trading community and transporters have called for immediate reopening of the border crossing as edible goods worth millions of rupees were at the risk of decomposing. It was reported that hundreds of vehicles were parked at about 17km of roadside stretch from Katakushtha to Torkham which also posed a security risk for transporters.

The reason for the border closure by Taliban was not entirely clear though officials on both sides said they are in discussions to resolve the issue. However, the deadlock finally ended and Pakistani and Afghan authorities agreed to work together to improve and facilitate cross-border trade and pedestrian movement.

The agreement came during a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Border Management Committee in the Afghan customs offices in Gumrak area. The meeting discussed the reasons for the week-long unilateral closure of the Torkham border by Afghan border forces accusing Pakistani forces of manhandling Afghan patients and denying them and their attendants the permission to enter their country without visa.

The Afghan officials also sought entry permission for Afghan vehicles equivalent to Pakistani ones crossing over to Afghanistan as well as for the stranded citizens, who held Afghan cards or Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

It was also reported that the Afghan authorities requested Pakistani counterparts not to seize the PoRs and Afghan cards and only punch them as most of the returning Afghans, who had lived in Pakistan for decades, were without other identification cards or legal travel documents.

It was also mentioned that the Afghan side also insisted that people of their country, who did not have PoRs or Afghan cards and were returning to Pakistan under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme should be granted permission to go back with other family members.

The Afghan authorities insisted that all those issues should be mutually resolved in order to prevent sudden border closures in future. It was added that both sides agreed to make concerted efforts to effectively stop child porters from secretly taking sugar and oranges to Afghanistan and smuggling goods to Pakistan.

It is now reported that a dispute over acquisition of land for the state-of-the-art customs terminal at the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham continues to simmer as construction work paces ahead to complete the project by the end of this year.

The tribal elders allege that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with whom they had originally signed an agreement on the provision of over 300 kanals of their collective land near the Torkham border for the construction of the terminal, had redesigned its structure and also grabbed over 400 kanals of additional land without their consent.

Though the idea of constructing the much-needed terminal was conceived in 2003, the construction work was delayed till 2015 due to the security situation in the region and also a row over the acquisition of the required land which was owned by the Khuga Khel sub-tribe of Landi Kotal.

In this matter the FBR has opted to stay in the background letting the National Logistic Cell (NLC) handle the matter as it had awarded the contract and is also present on ground to execute the construction plan.

The so-called aggrieved tribesmen and a senior JUI-F leader, insisted that they were never taken into confidence about the revised plan of the customs terminal and the subsequent encroachment of over 400 kanals of additional land.

They said that the concerned tribe and the residents of Khyber district were not against the construction of the terminal as it would provide the much-needed employment opportunities to the local people and give impetus to bilateral trade with Afghanistan.

They only demanded a fair deal regarding the acquisition of any additional land for the purpose.

To drive their point home the concerned tribesmen had during a protest rally in Landi Kotal threatening to forcibly stop the terminals construction if their grievances were not addressed within a week.

They, however, failed to muster the required strength to materialise their threat after the expiry of the deadline and opted for a negotiated settlement of the issue. It was reported that five of the nine members of the negotiating team had consented to the provision of additional 404 kanals of their collective land to the FBR and thus there was no question of disputing the agreement and sabotaging the construction of the customs terminal.

The NLC strongly mentioned that not a single inch of the tribal land would be occupied or utilised for the under-construction terminal without lawful authority.

It however pointed out that there was a difference of some 16 kanals of land after the signing of the revised agreement and that too would be satisfactorily settled with revised rates in due course of time.

It was reported that the main highway passing through the centre of the customs terminal was the property of National Highways Authority, while natural stream falling within the terminals jurisdiction was state property and there were also some individual owners of some of the land acquired for the terminal who were duly compensated. The NLC with FBR assistance is planning to conduct the final measurement of the terminal upon its completion by the end of this year and all stakeholders would be invited to see the actual size of the terminal premises.

It was conceded by the NLC that some additional land was acquired as the drawing of the terminal was revised after additional facilities were added to it on the request of the tribal elders and local traders, transporters and customs clearing agents.

At the under construction terminal customs clearance of loaded vehicles would be done under a one-window system while goods declaration procedure could be performed through internet under the WebBasedOne Custom system by the importers and exporters from any part of the country or abroad.

The new terminal will have a cumulative parking facility for at least 500 vehicles which will hugely minimise traffic mess on the main Peshawar-Torkham highway.

The terminal is also designed to offer rapid passenger immigration process, efficient cargo checking and handling alongside e-lanes for even faster clearance and a sufficiently large parking space for at least 500 trucks awaiting clearance.

Continue reading here:
The Torkham border row - ARY NEWS