Greens demand explanation from Tony Abbott over Iraq military involvement

[fruxodaily]

[QUOTE]Australia does not intend to commit combat troops on the ground in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said, as the government prepares to deploy aircraft to supply Kurdish fighters with weapons to use against the Islamic State.

But nor would Australia "stand by in the face of preventable genocide", Mr Abbott told the Parliament.

In a statement to the House of Representatives on Monday, Mr Abbott reaffirmed the government's intention to join American, British, Canadian, French and Italian aircraft in delivering supplies, including military equipment, to the Kurdish regional government in Erbil.

"So far, Madam Speaker, there has been no request for military action itself," Mr Abbott said.

The Prime Minister repeated previous statements that any request from the Obama administration for such action would be considered against strict criteria, including adequate risk assessment and clear humanitarian objectives that were in Australia's national interest.

"Like President Obama, Australia has no intention to commit combat troops on the ground. But we're not inclined to stand by in the face of preventable genocide either," Mr Abbott said.

The Prime Minister told the Parliament he refused to call the "hideous movement" Islamic State "because it is not a state, it's a death cult".

"So in good conscience, Madam Speaker, Australia cannot leave the Iraqi people to face this horror, this pure evil, alone or ask others to do in the name of human decency what we won't do ourselves," Mr Abbott said.

"It is right to do what we prudently and proportionately can to alleviate this suffering to prevent its spread and to deal with its perpetrators."

Mr Abbott's statement came after the government and the Greens clashed earlier in the day over Australia's military involvement in northern Iraq, with the Greens accusing Mr Abbott of having no strategy for Australia's engagement.

In a fiery exchange in the Senate on Monday, Greens leader Christine Milne tried to force a debate on the deployment of Australian troops but the move was rejected by the government and opposition as a "political stunt".

Senator Milne accused Mr Abbott of blindly following the United States into the conflict, comparing it to Australia's engagement in Iraq in 2003 – "and what a mess that left".

"Very few people believe that the Prime Minister of Australia has got a strategic plan for Australia's engagement in Iraq," she said.

"Everybody believes that we are simply running behind President Obama who himself last week said he has not got a strategy.

"We want to know what the objective is.

"I would like to hear from the government why they think there is any likelihood of success when there has not been success before from following the United States into these conflicts."

Senator Milne called for transparency on the extent of Australia's military engagement and questioned the legality of the deployment when there had been no United Nations resolution for military action.

Amid heckling from the Greens, Defence Minister David Johnston told the Senate that Australia's involvement was necessary.

"No government takes the putting of young Australian's in harm's way other than with the upmost seriousness," he said.

"This is probably the most important decision a Prime Minister and his cabinet can ever make."

Senator Johnston said it was Australia's duty to protect the lives of people amid mass executions across Iraq by Islamic State.

"Were we to debate what operational activities the Australian Defence Force would undertake, it would be completely counterproductive to protecting those lives," he said.

"This has never been done before in our history.

"The Prime Minister and the cabinet, taking their responsibilities seriously, recommended to the Governor-General that Australian forces be deployed."

"This is the way we have always done our business."

The Greens motion was defeated after Labor rejected it as a "stunt to score cheap political points".

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[url]http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greens-demand-explanation-from-tony-abbott-over-iraq-military-involvement-20140901-10av8o.html[/url]

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So they want to tie aid up in bureaucracy at which point they all die and there is no point to giving aid to them?
Nice going Greens, time to get a reality check.

[Tasm]

[QUOTE=download;45860220]So they want to tie aid up in bureaucracy at which point they all die and there is no point to giving aid to them?
Nice going Greens, time to get a reality check.[/QUOTE]

The Greens will never have a grasp on reality and have never had.

I don't see why people are expecting the government to have an individual plan for engagement, we do not have the same capabilities as the US and play a more of a support role in conflicts.
Also why are people talking about this like Australia would make a move before other countries, that's quite ridiculous. I only see an Australian involvement after the US decides to put their boots on the ground first. (Which they have no plans for, meaning they don't want to, not that they are unprepared).

[gerbe1]

[QUOTE=download;45860220]So they want to tie aid up in bureaucracy at which point they all die and there is no point to giving aid to them?
Nice going Greens, time to get a reality check.[/QUOTE]

They want to tie exposing Australians to great risks, and not just military personal - fighting ISIS brings the ire of terrorist groups - to a single vote in parliament.

Don't you think military action should be up to the representatives of the people, not the decision of the government of the day?

The majority of developed nations have that power requiring some form of majority in their elected parliaments as a whole, not just the executive including:

Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the USA.

There are very few documented examples where that kind of vote has directly resulted in people dying. Why does Australia sit with the likes of dictatorships and totalitarian regimes? Nations like Russia?

If we had to have had a parliamentary vote in 2003 then maybe there would have been more consideration into the rushed decision that was ultimately absolutely ridiculous and illegal.