No Australian combat troops to fight in Middle East

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has no plans to send combat troops to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS), claiming that the militant group is weak. He mentioned that the deployment of Australian combat troops to either Iraq or Syria would be neither "feasible" nor "practical" as the consensus of world leaders was that there was no appetite for a large-scale invasion of Syria.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull giving an interview in Busan, South Korea

Speaking after terror attacks in Paris claimed by IS, Mr. Turnbull’s remarks contrasted with former prime minister Tony Abbott’s description of IS as a “death cult”. Mr. Abbott, now serving as a backbench MP, had called for Australia to commit combat troops to the Middle East after the Paris attacks.

Australian special forces in Afghanistan, 2009

According to Mr. Turnbull, IS relies on its propaganda network and that Australia should not be fooled by its hype. Said the prime minister,

"Its ideology is archaic, but its use of the internet is very modern. ISIL has many more smartphones than guns, more Twitter accounts than fighters. (But) It is encircled by hostile forces. It is under military pressure."

Russian and American representatives meet to discuss the situation in Syria on September 29, 2015

Australia is part of a US-led coalition bombing the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. Currently there are around 90 Australian special forces soldiers advising counter-terror agencies in Iraq, as well as around 300 soldiers training members of the Iraqi national army. Australia also has six aircraft bombing IS positions in both Iraq and Syria as part of the US-led coalition.

An Australian soldier assigned to Task Group Taji assisting an Iraqi soldier during training in August 2015

Mr. Turnbull said Australia's commitment to the Middle East conflict was already large given the country's size and geographic location. He added,

"Larger for example than any European nation, larger than Canada or any of the neighbouring Arab states.”

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)