ABC Online... Prime Minister Julia Gillard has taken a swipe at Tony Abbott, saying it appears the Opposition Leader does not understand how the military justice system works.
The rebuke follows Mr Abbott's intervention into the case of three Australian soldiers charged over the deaths of six civilians in Afghanistan last year.
Mr Abbott says he suspects there has been a deep failure by the Government to provide the soldiers with the defence they are entitled to and that people fear the soldiers have been stabbed in the back by the Government.
Ms Gillard says Mr Abbott should get the facts first before talking about such cases publicly.
She says it is the military's job to offer legal assistance, not the Government's.
"Mr Abbott seems to believe that the Government can make representations in this process; that is simply not true, and anyone who had bothered to get themselves briefed as to the facts would have known that wasn't true," she said.
"Now, national security - it doesn't get any more important than that - I would say to Mr Abbott his is an area where he's got the clearest of all obligations to inform himself of the facts before he speaks."
The Australia Defence Association (ADA) says the Opposition Leader's comments are unhelpful and that it has told the Liberal Party so.
Last month, after 18 months of examination, Director of Military Prosecutions Lyn McDade charged the three soldiers over the deaths of the civilians in Afghanistan.
One of the unnamed soldiers was charged with manslaughter.
Ms Gillard says the military justice system as it operates now is a creation of the Howard government, which Mr Abbott was a part of.
"Mr Abbott sat around that Cabinet table; if he had any concerns about this legislation then why weren't they expressed at that time?" she said.
In 2006, the Howard government appointed Brigadier McDade as the first Director of Military Prosecutions.
She had 23 years of military law experience prior to the appointment through full-time and part-time service with the Army reserve.
Smear campaign
Brigadier McDade's decision to charge the soldiers sparked fury from some, with the military prosecutor vilified for her decision through online social websites.
It also prompted an online petition with more than 20,000 signatures, calling on the Governor-General to intervene and overturn the case.
The Defence Department says it has offered legal representation to the accused, that they have had the choice of who will defend them and that it has been at the Commonwealth's expense.
The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, has also issued a strongly worded statement, urging Defence personnel against doing anything that is disrespectful or not supportive of the legal process.
He says the military prosecutor is acting in accordance to her duties in an independent way and that vilifying her and signing petitions is completely inappropriate and unlawful.
"None of us, including me, knows all of the evidence that the Director of Military Prosecutions has considered in deciding to lay the charges," he said.
The Army Chief says the fact charges have been laid does not men the men are guilty.
Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James says he supports Lieutenant General Gillespie's comments.
"We've been busy on the internet in the last fortnight pointing out to many people that their assumptions about the charges against the commandos in many cases are wrong and most of the petitions and discussion on the net is based on an inadequate understanding of the law," he said.
Mr James says the smear campaign against Brigadier McDade has been "disgraceful".
"Some of the abuse of Brigadier McDade on the net has been sexist, childish, cowardly; it's been beyond a joke, made even worse by the fact it's extremely ignorant," he said.
Mr James says he hopes people will stop signing petitions and actually think about the case.
"[I hope] people stop to realise that there's a danger that the fair trial that these commandos deserve and need may be prejudiced by some of the silly discussions that are going on more broadly in the community, particularly on talk-back radio," he said.
