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No Australian combat troops to fight in Middle East
The so-called Islamic State (IS) group is weak and Australia has no plans to send combat troops to fight it, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says. His remarks contrasted with former prime minister Tony Abbott's description of IS as a "death cult".Mr Abbott, now serving as a backbench MP, called for Australia to commit combat troops to the Middle East after the Paris attacks. Mr Turnbull told Australia's House of Representatives that IS relied on its propaganda network and "we must not be fooled by its hype". Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rejected calls to send combat troops to the Middle East. But the group must be defeated militarily in Iraq and Syria, where it has overrun vast swathes of territory, he said.
"It does not command broad-based legitimacy even in those areas under its direct control. It is encircled by hostile forces. It is under military pressure." Mr Turnbull made the comments as part of national security statement to Australia's parliament. Tony Abbott never backed away from his description of the so-called Islamic State (IS) as a "death cult". When terrorism experts said IS would be delighted that his colourful description promoted the group's propaganda aims, Mr Abbott was dismissive. "I think we should call things what they are," he said in June this year. Fast-forward five months and Australia's political landscape is very different. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who deposed Mr Abbott in September, wants to undercut IS's effective propaganda. Rather than boots on the ground, Mr Turnbull is focusing on a war of ideas. Mr Turnbull said the government of Iraq believed the presence of large numbers of Western troops in that country would be "counter-productive". He also said the consensus of world leaders was that there was no appetite for a large-scale invasion of Syria. The deployment of Australian combat troops to either Iraq or Syria would be neither "feasible" nor "practical", Mr Turnbull said. Former defence minister Kevin Andrews and Liberal MP Michael Sukkar had backed Mr Abbott's call for "boots on the ground" following the Paris attacks. Currently there are around 90 Australian special forces soldiers advising counter-terror agencies in Iraq, as well as around 300 soldiers training members of the Iraqi national army. Australia also has six aircraft bombing IS positions in both Iraq and Syria as part of the US-led coalition. Mr Turnbull said Australia's commitment to the Middle East conflict was already large given the country's size and geographic location. "Larger for example than any European nation, larger than Canada or any of the neighbouring Arab states," he said. Posted by: Steve White 2015-11-25 |
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