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Australia has had specialist troops waiting in the UAE for a month now but has not been able to deploy them in Iraq because no formal agreement has been reached with the Iraqi government.
Our Foreign Minister, the only member of the government's front bench worth her salt, has been over there sorting things out and they will be moving in very soon but only in an advisory capacity, whatever that means in diplomatic military speak.
For anyone interested, there is a side article that explores Middle East issues under the heading "What makes the Middle East a witches' brew?"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-17/middle-east-witchs-brew/5771416
Our Foreign Minister, the only member of the government's front bench worth her salt, has been over there sorting things out and they will be moving in very soon but only in an advisory capacity, whatever that means in diplomatic military speak.
Deal agreed for Australian forces to deploy in Iraq, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says
Australia has reached a deal with Baghdad for the deployment of about 200 of its special forces to assist Iraqi troops in their fight against Islamic State (IS) militants. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in Baghdad she had met top officials to hammer out a deal allowing Australian commandos who have been waiting in the United Arab Emirates to deploy to Iraq.
"I have finalised an agreement for a legal framework to enable our special forces to be deployed here," Ms Bishop said as she wrapped up a two-day visit. "It will be a matter for our military to determine when our special forces will be deployed, so it will be an operational matter from now on."
Ms Bishop said the special forces mission would be to "advise and assist the Iraqi government in building up the capacity of the Iraqi security forces". During her trip, Ms Bishop reiterated that Australian forces would be deployed in an advisory capacity and that Canberra had no plans to send ground troops to fight alongside Iraqi forces. The agreement came a day after Iraq's appointment of interior and defence ministers which ended a security limbo that had been seen as an obstacle to coordination in the fight against IS.
Liberal MP Stuart Robert has told the ABC's Capital Hill there is now "no legal impediment" to Australia's special forces moving into Iraq.
"They'll move in fairly smartly," he said. "It'll now come down to some base logistics and some operational matters but they'll be moving fairly quickly now."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said last week that special forces had not entered Iraq and had been waiting in the UAE since mid-September because Baghdad had not offered them formal legal protections. Australia was one of the first nations to join the US's aerial campaign against IS, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and is increasingly seen as a global threat.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-20/iraq/5825438
For anyone interested, there is a side article that explores Middle East issues under the heading "What makes the Middle East a witches' brew?"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-17/middle-east-witchs-brew/5771416
nly in an advisory capacity, whatever that means in diplomatic military speak.