Australian Government Approves Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Iraq

By Steven Hogg - 04 Oct '14 05:15AM

The Australian cabinet authorized airstrikes against the Islamic State Militants in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday.

The cabinet also authorized the deployment of Australian Special Forces in Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi security forces, Abbot said. However, the legal framework for the operation has to be worked out with the Iraqi government.

Abbott said that deployment to Iraq would be lengthy and would take months rather than weeks.

"Yes, it is a combat deployment, but it is an essentially humanitarian mission to protect the people of Iraq and ultimately the people of Australia from the murderous rage of the ISIL death cult," Abbott said.

"ISIL must be disrupted and degraded at home and abroad, so it is absolutely in Australia's national interests that this mission goes ahead," he said, reports the Associated Press.

Last month., Australia had send Six F/A-18F Super Hornet jets, a Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, a KC-30 refueller and a special forces contingent to the United Arab Emirates. They were waiting on standby in the United Arab Emirates for final approval from the Australian government to begin operations in Iraq with the U.S.-led coalition,.

Wednesday, two unarmed air force planes, a Royal Air force E-7A Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft and a KC-30A refueling aircraft joined the U.S coalition in a supportive role for the first time

Meanwhile, Greens leader Christine Milne rejected the government's claim it was acting on an appeal from the Iraqi government.

"It's an incredible situation that we have now got the Iraqi ambassador saying that the Iraqi government is considering a submission from Australia to join the air strikes. That is hardly a plea from the Iraqi government that Australia participate," Senator Milne said, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

Elaborating further, Milne said that Abbott wanted to involve Australia in another war in Iraq from the beginning itself. She added that Abbott was talking about the deployment of Super hornets and Special Forces before President Obama started to gather his allies for the war.