Tony Abbott waits for approval to use Australian special forces in Iraq
- 4 hours ago October 07, 2014
Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Source: News Corp Australia
IT’S a strange kind of war when lawyers appear to be pulling rank over the generals.
The drawn-out negotiations to allow Australian special forces to act in Iraq seem more like solicitors settling a real estate transaction than a soldier issuing a battle command.
“We’ve written to the Iraqis, the Iraqis have written back to us, and now we need to consider their response to finalise our considerations,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters today,
The Prime Minister is prepared to wait for advice from his crack legal team before flicking the green light for his crack fighting units.
That’s because he wants any Australian battle with the fighters now blighting Iraq to be legitimate legally as well as morally.
It’s a matter of respecting international law, but there is also a domestic element. Voters broadly see the mission in Iraq as necessary, but that doesn’t mean it is popular. There is still a significant slice of the electorate which would be outraged if the government rushed into what could be an endless engagement.
That means any action will be delayed until the diplomatic niceties have been finalised.
Of course, no permission was sought from Iraq for the 2003 invasion. The United States argued it had approval under a United Nations measure, and Australia used the same legal justification. The US military still has the legal right to operate in Iraq. Further, the United States is the big dog of international affairs and is unlikely to be denied.
Australia doesn’t have that heft. Permission from Baghdad’s post-Saddam government for Australian soldiers to serve in Iraq has expired, and has to be renewed line by line.
The Iraqi lawyers won’t be rushed. At one point last week, there were concerns a public holiday in Baghdad might further defer negotiations for our Hornets to fly over the country.
Today, Mr Abbott maintained his insistence on a lawyer’s approval regarding action by Australian troops.
“Our forces are ready to go. We are finalising the legal documentation,” he told reporters.
“I hope that can be done very quickly, because it is an absolutely critical mission upon which our forces will be embarked, to advise and assist the Iraqi armed forces as they regroup and regather, and hopefully regain control of their country.” or just piss off again
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