Analysts say defeating Islamic State insurgents could take years unless we 'seriously invest' in the mission.
Peter Jennings, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the "half-hearted" military approach will mean the campaign against IS will not be "concluded quickly".
"If we continue with the current strategy, which is a half-hearted attempt where the Americans don’t wish to be more involved, there will be no political resolution," the former deputy secretary of the Defence Department told SBS.
"On the other hand, if the US decides to seriously invest to give the Iraqi military the capability it needs – we’re still talking about months and possibly years in order for them to be trained up and retake the territory that’s been taken from them.
"The politics is the thing that’s limiting the scale of the operation. We can understand why that’s the case, but that also means the military operation cannot be concluded quickly."
He also said committing ground forces in Iraq is imminent if the Coalition is "serious" about the combat mission.
"If the Coalition is serious – even about the task of building the Iraqi military’s capability, it will have to involve more people in time," he said. "Yes ground forces, because that becomes the way that we engage with the Iraq military, more or less at the frontline. The key issue here is to encourage conscripts not to cut and run when they come under fire in the battlefields – and you don’t do that by sitting in the headquarter."
But that raises the question of cost - both of the deployment and security measures at home.
"The nexus between Australia's security here and what is happening in the Middle East is very clear in my view," said Defence Minister David Johnston. "The cost element is something that we'll work through in due course."
First armed combat mission
Overnight, Australia completed its first armed combat mission in Iraq. The mission reportedly provided important air cover for local forces but dropped no bombs.
Two RAAF Super Hornets returned safely to the Australian support base in the United Arab Emirates after missions on Sunday.
They joined aircraft from the US, UK, France, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, which have all conducted attacks against Islamic State forces inside Iraq.
Both Super Hornets were armed with weapons including GPS-guided bombs, which they did not use.
Mr Johnston told ABC on Monday Australia's planes provided important air cover for local forces, flying missions of between six and 10 hours.
Former Army Chief Peter Leahy says it is normal for a fighter jet to return from a mission without dropping bombs. The pilots can also use what's known as 'the red card' and legally refuse any mission, even in mid-air, if they're worried about civilian casualties or any other breach of Australia's rules of engagement.
"You would expect something like this to happen, particularly as we want to minimise collateral damage," he told the ABC.
"We don't want to be hitting the wrong target."
He said IS have made themselves a much harder target over the past week.
"They've dispersed, they're adapting camouflage patterns, they've moved back inside the cities and getting close to the forces and holding on," he said.
"We need to make sure we don't exacerbate the problem with support from the locals by causing them damage."
Federal government frontbencher Mitch Fifield believes all Australians will be happy the first foray ended safely.
"The mission obviously will have many iterations. This is the first," Senator Fifield told Sky News.
Humanitarian mission
Australia's involvement in Iraq has the backing of the federal opposition.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen described the operation on Monday as a mission in defence of the defenceless.
"This is a humanitarian mission that is important for the peace and freedom of the people of Iraq and also for global stability and global peace," he told journalists in Sydney.
A RAAF KC-30A airborne refuelling aircraft supported the Super Hornets mission. Also over Iraq on Sunday was the RAAF's E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.
It wasn't specifically supporting the Australian aircraft but directing coalition aircraft in increasingly crowded air space.
The mission follows a decision by the cabinet national security committee on Friday to allow combat missions to proceed.
The government also gave the go-ahead for deployment of Australian Special Forces into Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi forces.
Defence insisted that no details of the first mission be released until after midnight local time to allow for safe return of all aircraft.
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