New Zealand is to send troops to Iraq on a ‘behind-the-wire” non-combat mission to boost the local military’s ability to fight the Islamic State group, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.
Key said that about 140 troops would begin the mission in May after the Iraqi government sought help to increase its military capability against the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“We cannot, and should not, fight Iraq’s battles for them — and actually Iraq doesn’t want us to,” he told parliament. “Our military can, however, play a part in building the capability and capacity of the Iraqi forces so they can fight ISIL themselves.”
Key flagged the mission late last year and it has been hotly debated in New Zealand, with all major opposition parties against it.
A TVNZ opinion poll released recently found that 48 percent of participants supported a military training mission, with 42 percent against and the rest undecided.
Key said New Zealand was part of a 62-nation coalition against the organization.
He described the Muslim extremist group — infamous for beheading, stoning and burning alive its victims — as “barbaric,” saying that New Zealand would “stand up for what’s right.”
He added that New Zealand troops would most likely work alongside their Australian counterparts at a military base in Taji, north of Baghdad.
Key said the initial deployment was for nine months and the mission would not extend beyond two years.
Main opposition Labour Party leader Andrew Little said New Zealand should concentrate on supplying humanitarian aid to Iraq, rather than conducting military training.
“We won’t fix the [Iraqi] army: It is disorganized, it is broken, it is treacherous and it is corrupt,” he told parliament.
Green Party leader Russel Norman criticized Key for refusing to put the plan to a vote, saying that Key knew he would lose.
“Democracy, it seems, is a military export and is not for domestic consumption,” Norman said.
In a fierce debate, Key said opposition leaders should “get some guts and join the right side.”
“I will not stand by while Jordanian pilots are burned to death, while kids execute soldiers,” he said. “This is the time to stand up and be counted.”
New Zealand has faced pressure from allies to join the effort.
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond urged the nation to make its military expertise available when he visited Auckland this month.
“Frankly we’ve got used to New Zealand being there alongside us, alongside the US, the UK, Australia, as part of the family,” Hammond said.
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