Government refuses to be drawn on Iraq troops

Both sides of politics are refusing to rule out a possible boost to Australia's deployment in Iraq to counter the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Pro-IS demonstrations in Mosul AAPPro-IS demonstrations in Mosul AAP

Pro-IS demonstrations in Mosul AAP Source: Pro-IS demonstrations in Mosul AAP

The United States says it's sending an additional 450 soldiers to help train the Iraqi army.

And the Federal Government and the Opposition are maintaining a united front on the international effort to stop IS.

There is bipartisan consensus that Australia must do all it can to combat the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or Daesh.

But both major parties have shied away from questions about putting more troops on the ground in Iraq.

Australia already has 530 soldiers in the country, whose roles are limited to training Iraqi army units.

Federal Government frontbencher Christopher Pyne says Australia should continue playing a role in stopping the militants.

But speaking with the Nine Network, Mr Pyne would not be drawn on whether Australian should send more soldiers to match newly announced increases in US troop numbers.

"Well, we're talking to all of our allies about how to most effectively use our skills and abilities to stop Daesh in Iraq. That is an ongoing discussion that we should be having with them. Obviously, we've announced already training and so forth for the Iraqi army. We're part of the air strikes against Daesh, and that will continue. But the threat is extremely real, and I think, a few months ago, Australians thought, 'Ah, well, we've dealt with that. The Americans are there, the Australians are there, we're pushing back, we'll be able to defeat them.' Well, they've shown themselves to be quite resilient, and, therefore, we have to redouble our efforts."

Yesterday, Defence Minister Kevin Andrews insisted Australia had no immediate plans to send more defence personnel to Iraq.

And he said the US boost to its numbers still fell within its original commitment.

Labor has been united with the Coalition on the strategy in Iraq.

And speaking with the Nine Network, Opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese steered clear of playing politics with the possibility of a boost in troop numbers.

"There is no proposal for that, so I'm not going to deal with hypotheticals. But we'll get briefings from the Government. And it's important that ... you know, the Prime Minister yesterday made some pretty strong statements. It's up to him, in terms of the language that he chooses to use. But what there certainly is agreement with across the board is that these people need to be stopped."

Much of the focus in trying to stop IS has been not only on training Iraqi security forces but also Sunni tribal fighters.

Both groups have been receiving international military expertise and equipment to help them retake land seized by IS.

But the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has criticised the training and arming of Sunni groups.

Iyad bin Amin Madani says it is the wrong approach.

"(For the US) to arm Sunni tribes is the wrong logic, we think. There is a country called Iraq, and ISIS should be defeated by Iraq, not by Sunni tribes. ISIS is not a threat to Sunnis alone. If we say that, then the implication is that it's not a threat to other segments and factions in Iraq. This is all a logic based on what has been the policy and the approach ever since Iraq was invaded."

Meanwhile, Russia has singled out Australia for comments made this week by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop about the likelihood IS could make a so-called dirty bomb.

Ms Bishop says IS is collecting radioactive material from hospitals and research establishments.

In an earlier speech in Perth, she said IS may be developing biological weapons in the form of poison gas.

She cited information from the departments of defence and foreign affairs and trade.

But Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is questioning why, if true, such information was made public at all.

"We heard that the Australian intelligence service announced the existence of some evidence which confirms the possession of radioactive material by the so-called Islamic State which is sufficient for making a dirty bomb. First of all, these are strange things that intelligence agents make their research public. As a rule, it is necessary to make these findings, through trusted channels, available to those who can help to prevent the crime."


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4 min read

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By Darren Mara


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