He knows how to address an enemy but can’t lead his troops

Abbott used to taunt  Kevin Rudd with Kevin 747 because of his penchant for travel however Abbott will have had the same number as Rudd in his first year.

It seems he is running away from domestic politics particularly his budget and his treasurer Joe Hockey.

 “There wouldn’t be many occasions in living memory when a Prime Minister was asked to defend his Treasurer in Question Time and sat silent. That said it all about this Prime Minister who doesn’t want to be near his Treasurer or his Budget. That stood apart from everything else this week.”

 “Is the only reason the Prime Minister is holding on to this hopeless and incompetent Treasurer to make him a human shield for this unfair budget? Isn’t it time for the Prime Minister to either dump his Treasurer or dump the budget”    Bill Shorten

Abbott remained silent and didn’t budge. But the prime minister has been central to all major policy.He chaired the committee from which the budget grew. The prime minister opened each meeting of that razor gang committee with an outline of the ideological, political and economic guideposts that would apply, according to people present. He was firm in enforcing them.

As Bill Shorten has decided to wage a full onslaught against the budget Abbott has withdrawn to the area of National Security an area which Bill Shorten will not criticize. So Abbott confronting Islamic State terrorism, standing up to Russia’s Putin and joining Obama’s Iraq mission has become his field of preference even though a bit player it draws positive spin.

The short life of the Abbott government shows how quickly events can turn for the moment National Security is a political assett for Abbott like Border protection he needs to keep it that way.

The  Bush invasion unseated Saddam Hussein, who operated a brutal regime but a stable country.The

enthroned Nouri Al-Maliki, who operated a brutal regime and a deeply unstable country.Maliki spent years conducting a low-intensity civil war against the country’s Sunnis. So when Sunni-based Islamic State fighters swept back from Syria into Iraq, the Sunnis in Iraq’s army were not about to fight them. The Sunnis in the ranks quietly walked away. Four divisions in Iraq’s army simply collapsed turned and joined the other side.

Abbott supporters like Andrew Bolt want a war or at least posture as if Abbott does. Obama is constantly belittled by Bolt. However if one considers the rapid growth of support for ISIS a mixed Sunni coalition brought together because of two brutal Shia governments one might better understand Obama’s position.

In the meantime Abbott is going to continue to play the war time leader trying to put all his past mistakes into forgotten memory.