The Small Picture Podcasts

'Jones knew the score with "deniable" operations that were sanctioned secretly at the highest levels. If they turned to custard and the cover was blown, the powers–that–be would simply deny everything and disown all involved, from the military down to the spooks and, at the bottom of the food chain, hired guns like him.'

What happens to the elite, close–knit soldiers of Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment after they leave the Who Dares Wins world of special forces? For some, there are highly paid jobs in the world's war zones and trouble spots protecting global corporations from terrorism, sabotage and violence. Others become powerful government advisers, many join foreign armies to train their special forces and expand the global brotherhood. Most risky of all, is the shadowy world of deniable 'black ops'. Guarding a deadly secret military cargo – a new missile system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer – is all in a day's work. These are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and Asia, award–winning defence writer Ian McPhedran uncovers a virtually unknown network and tells how Australia's top soldiers are forever linked in a seemingly borderless world.

Ian McPhedran is the Sydney based national defence writer for News Limited. He has been a journalist all his working life and has covered conflicts in Burma, Somalia, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.In 1993 he won a United Nations Association peace media award and in 1999 the Walkley award for best news report for his expose of the navy's Collins class submarine fiasco.His first book, The Amazing SAS: the inside story of Australia's special forces, is a national best seller.McPhedran lives in Balmain with his wife Verona and daughter Lucy.

Ian actually takes time to do what a good defence writer should do - go to the sharp end, and talk to the diggers on the ground. You can't cover a war over a telephone.

This book is a bloody good read, and it highlights the inadequate ways in which former SAS troopers are treated by not only the government, but by society in general.

A great interview about a great book.