The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. November 19, 2020 Australian Military Apologizes to Afghan People over Troops' War Crimes ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The head of the Australian military has apologized to the people of Afghanistan after a four-year probe found Australian special forces committed war crimes by murdering at least 39 noncombatants in Afghanistan. The probe reveals a practice known as "blooding," where patrol commanders ordered junior soldiers to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve the soldier's first kill. The military has now referred dozens of cases to the Australian Federal Police for criminal investigation. .