Aus military chief apologises to Zaetta

Australian actress Tania Zaetta received an apology from Australia’s military chief on Tuesday for falsely accusing her of engaging in sex with elite special forces soldiers during a 2008 concert tour at a military base in Afghanistan.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston met Zaetta yesterday to personally apologize for any distress suffered by her.

“There was no substance to the allegations,Ms. Zaetta gave her time and her talent to entertain our forces serving in Afghanistan and she deserves our praise and our thanks. I have also made clear to Ms. Zaetta that she is welcome to again join a Forces Entertainment Tour in the near future.” Houston said in a statement.

He also invited her to entertain the troops again. "She is welcome to again join the Forces Entertainment Tour in the near future," he was quoted as saying in the media reports here today.
Zaetta was named in a confidential briefing paper to the Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, as having slept with soldiers at a military base in Tarin Kowt, the capital of Oruzgan province.

Zaetta, considered “one of the first foreigners to conquer Bollywood,” toured Australian Defence Force bases in Afghanistan and Iraq during early 2008 with a group of entertainers. A draft ministerial “hot issues brief” was published in various newspapers intimating that the 38-year-old actress had engaged in sex with several members of the Australian Special Air Services Regiment. Other entertainers touring with the group said in media interviews that they were so “managed” and tired during the trip that they could not imagine that this could be possible.

The Defence department also reached an agreement late last year to compensate Zaetta for an "unacceptable breach of privacy" in relation to the false allegations levelled against her during an entertainment tour in April 2008.The document said the allegations had been made by the singer Angry Anderson, a claim the rocker has denied.

Meanwhile, Zaetta thanked her family and friends for standing by her through a difficult time. She also thanked the "people from all over the world" who emailed her website.

"I read every single email, many of them with tears in my eyes," she said. As for the invitation to go back for round two, the actress was considering it.

"I'm very pleased this is all over now and I look forward to the next opportunity to visit our Australian troops overseas," she said.