A former Chief of Defence Force says he intervened to stop any confusion over New Zealand Navy ships becoming entangled in the 2003 Iraq invasion force.
Other People's Wars by Nicky Hager claims the New Zealand Defence Force helped with escorting and protecting the international force contrary to Government orders.
Air Marshal Sir Bruce Ferguson, who was head of the Defence Force from 2002 to 2006 and during the time of the invasion, said he ordered ships to keep out of the area in question.
Sir Bruce told Checkpoint the New Zealand ships were in the Arabian Sea, up as far as Bahrain.
"They were under US control, not command. I commanded them. They could order the ships to do whatever fitted within our own country's rules of engagement. And that is why when I realised there was the possibility of misinterpretation, I became very specific."
Mr Hager also asserts in Other People's Wars that the New Zealand base in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan, houses a secret CIA operation.
The chief of the army between 2006 and 2009, Major General Lou Gardiner, says while it is normal for New Zealand to work with its allies, he is not aware of such an operation.
The Governor-General, Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae, who led the Defence Force from 2006 until this year also rejects the claims.
The book also says peacekeepers who were meant to be in Afghanistan were sent to Oman and Pakistan to load CIA helicopters and explosives for British troops.
But Mr Hager told Morning Report that real Defence documents which he put in the book, tell a completely different story. He also said he went through WikiLeaks documents talking about special forces teams.
Jon Stephenson, a New Zealand journalist who has reported from Afghanistan, says it is well-known in Bamiyan that CIA operatives are working with the New Zealand contingent.
He says his sources say senior people in the military bent over backwards not to pass information to the former Labour Government and that both then-Prime Minister Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Phil Goff avoided asking questions.
