Is Australia now at war? It depends on how you spin it and for what purpose.

Tony Abbott baulked at the suggestion as he announced Australian combat missions using his half-empathetic, half-lecturing "I-used-to-be-a-journo" tone to explain to reporters why they should calm down.

Super Hornet aircrew head to their aircraft in preparation for departure to the Middle East. Credit:Ben Dempster

"I know that you'd love to have that headline, but it's not strictly accurate," he began, conceding that, "Yes, we are engaged in combat operations, but these are combat operations against an insurgency in support of the legitimate government of Iraq."

On the face of it, this is a valid distinction, or at least it would be if (a) the term "war" had not been so widely debased by governments in the recent past, and (b) if Abbott had not repeatedly justified Australian involvement on the grounds that Islamic State had "declared war on the world". Besides, the Iraq/Syria insurgency is a conflict that is "reaching out to us" whether we like it or not, he has stated time and again.