Its incredible how lame the reporting has been on Hager’s new work of fiction. Here’s NZ Herald’s Chief Reporter David Fisher thinking he’s got some revealing last minute scoop because ex-Defence Minister Wayne Mapp “admits there were six civilians killed”.

Poor uninformed senior journalist Davey apparently doesn’t know this is not news, or any kind of revelation. It was even in NZ papers back in 2014. Here’s the crucial part from that article, just to save you clicking on the link–

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says NZ troops were not involved in civilian deaths during a 2010 SAS mission that reportedly killed six Afghan civilians, including a child.

Could it be any damn clearer? Patrick Gower and John Campbell too are going on as if this is some kind of big new reveal. They’re doing it just to beat the story up.

There’s also an interesting footnote to that story, where Hagers co-author Jon Stephenson seems to walk back allegations of a revenge attack-

An earlier version of this report incorrectly said Jon Stephenson had referred to the mission as “revenge”. Stephenson did not say this. His story made clear the mission was targeting insurgents allegedly responsible for O’Donnell’s death, but did not use the word revenge.

The thing about the Hager non-event is this. What is the charge?

No one even knows what the charge is, and it stands to reason therefore that there’s no evidence. Its hilariously idiotic. There’s no charge and no evidence, yet this is some kind of big reveal. What a joke NZ reporters really are.

If the charge is that the civilians were accidentally killed by NZ SAS troops then make it. If the charge is that the civilians were deliberately killed by NZ SAS troops then make it.

Hager can’t make either charge of course because he has no evidence, for either proposition. Just the usual smoke.

The civilians, if they were indeed civilians and blameless as appears to be the situation, were accidentally killed and if earlier reports have any substance they were killed by fire from American helicopters. Not the NZ SAS.

Collateral damage is a part of war, and especially so when terrorists don’t wear uniforms and hide among civilians.

Its nothing new. On D-Day when allied troops invaded France, about 2500 French civilians also died. During bombing campaigns over Europe, it is estimated that as many French citizens died as were killed in the German airforce’s blitz on London.

Hager’s book is just more smoke with no fire. The NZ media are in the main just a pack of left wing jerks doing what they can to make a political hit piece out of Hager’s miserable little self promoting tome. David Fisher and the rest of them need to get a grip.