Tony Abbott says any request from US government for greater military involvement, such as air strikes, will be considered

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The risks posed by Australian military involvement in arming Kurdish forces in Iraq are less than the hazards of doing nothing, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) says.



Tony Abbott announced on Sunday that Australia would join other countries in delivering military equipment to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, in an attempt to combat the spread of Islamic State (Isis) militants.

The prime minister said any formal request from the US government for greater military involvement, such as participation in air strikes, would be considered against criteria including an achievable overall objective, a clear role for Australian forces, a full assessment of the safety risks and an overall humanitarian purpose.

Abbott told reporters in Canberra on Sunday Australia’s decision to transport arms and munitions to the Kurds was at the request of the Obama administration and with the full support of the Iraqi government.

Asked about the risk of the arms eventually falling into the wrong hands, the prime minister said: “My understanding is that the regional government in Irbil has provided to the Americans, to the Iraqis and to others an assurance that the weapons that we will be helping to transport into Irbil will be used by the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdish regional government.”

The ADF chief, Mark Binskin, speaking at the same media conference, said: “The greater risk here is actually doing nothing.”

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, expressed similar sentiments, saying the nations involved in arming the Kurds were conscious of the risks but deemed the greater risk would be allowing Isis “to succeed in their war in northern Iraq”.

Binskin said the arms, to be transported by RAAF C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft, would come from eastern European countries.

The material would include rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and various calibres of ammunition, Binskin said. It would assist the Peshmerga to fight Isis “and make sure that we don’t have a deepening humanitarian crisis in the north-eastern area of Iraq”.

Binskin said the missions to deliver arms would involve landing and handing them over to officials from the Peshmerga.

“We want to make sure that we know where the arms go and the munitions go when we deliver,” Binskin said.

Asked about the security required to safeguard those missions, Binskin said he would not disclose tactical details but the operations would proceed “in a controlled manner”.

Abbott said the national security committee made the arms decision and it was taken to the cabinet earlier than last Monday.

Abbott, who told parliament on Thursday that Australia had not been officially asked for military assistance, said the US had made a request about arms deliveries “in general terms some time ago” and it “crystallised into specificity a few days ago”.

“There are three matters,” he said on Sunday.

“There are requests for humanitarian assistance, there are requests for military airlifts and there are requests for actual military engagement and there has been no specific request for actual military engagement.”

Abbott said that “no specific request has thus far been received from the Obama administration” regarding the possibility for stepped-up military activity in Iraq.

The prime minister declined to guarantee that his previous comments about not sending combat troops included special forces. He said he did not want “to get into the business of making operational commitments or giving operational guarantees”.

Abbott said Barack Obama had repeatedly affirmed that there was no role envisaged for combat troops on the ground. “None of us want to get involved in another Middle Eastern war,” he said.

He rejected calls by the Greens and the independent MP Andrew Wilkie for a full parliamentary debate and vote before military deployments.

He said the idea that Australian forces could not be deployed until parliament had met and approved the mission was “novel to say the least”.

“There are all sorts of circumstances in which Australian forces could be deployed, must be deployed, where you couldn’t have a parliamentary debate prior to their deployment,” he said.

In line with a statement issued earlier by the Pentagon, Abbott said Australia was one of several countries involved in a humanitarian operation to deliver aid to “the besieged town” of Amirli in northern Iraq on Sunday. Isis had cut the town off from receiving food, water and medical supplies.

The Pentagon said US aircraft had also conducted coordinated airstrikes against nearby Isis positions.

Binskin said it was a “very complex situation” and the RAAF C-130 aircraft operating out of al-Minhad Base in the United Arab Emirates had dropped 15 pallets of food, water and hygiene packs.

“We know that the town was surrounded by [Isis] forces and we know that the [US] strikes that were conducted in support of the airdrop were to suppress the [Isis] forces so that we could ensure the safety of the airdrop from the UK, France and Australian aircraft. So it was an integrated package and it was very, very important to coordinate that and bring it together,” he said.

On 14 August Australian planes dropped nine tonnes of supplies to Yezidi civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.

Binskin said the humanitarian airdrops were “not easy missions” and took seven to nine hours to complete. Abbott said Australia stood ready to take part in further airdrops if needed.

Abbott thanked Shorten for the “very constructive approach” he had taken to national security issues.

The Greens leader, Christine Milne, said there was no doubt that Isis was “carrying out horrendous crimes against humanity” but Abbott needed to demonstrate the national interest in a military role in Iraq and explain the long-term strategy.

Wilkie said it was “insane” that the prime minister had the power to send troops without parliamentary approval.

“The key point is that the government must not make a decision about a combat role for Australia in Iraq, must not make a decision about deploying forces of any kind, unless and until the Australian parliament debates it and forms a view and votes on it,” Wilkie said.