03 Oct 14. Australian PM Approves Iraq Combat Missions. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Friday that Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornets will begin striking Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq. Abbott also said that “subject to final legal documentation,” Australian Army Special Forces will deploy into Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi forces. The announcement followed a National Security Committee meeting. The Air Force has already deployed six Super Hornets, together with an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control platform and a KC-30A tanker to Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE on Sept. 24. On Wednesday, the Air Force began flying support and training missions over Iraq with the Wedgetail and KC-30A, but offensive strike action was dependent upon a request from the Iraqi government and Australian Cabinet approval. “Today Cabinet has authorized Australian airstrikes in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government and in support of the Iraqi government,” Abbott said in a news conference. “I want to stress that only Iraq can defeat ISIL, but Iraq shouldn’t be alone and as far as Australia and our allies are concerned, Iraq won’t be alone.” Abbott warned Australians that the deployment would be a lengthy one, predicting it to last “months, not weeks.” “I want to reassure the Australian people that it will be as long as it needs to be but as short as it possibly can be,” he said. “I also need to warn the Australian people that this is a dangerous mission. It is a dangerous mission but I’m confident that the chief of the Defence Force has put in place all possible measures to minimize risk.” The deployment has the bipartisan support of Australia’s leader of the opposition, Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor Party. “Labor understands that peace and stability in the Middle East ultimately has to be driven by the nations of the Middle East,” Shorten said in response to the government’s announcement. “But at this time, in the face of the threat, Australia does have a responsibility to join a very broad international coalition, both of regional nations and nations more broadly. Australia does indeed have a role to play in the global response.” Defence Minister Sen. David ‘ohnston visited the Middle East last week and included a visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraq’s new Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi. “We have engaged with the government in Baghdad and I can tell you that the new prime minister in Baghdad and indeed the Iraqi ambassador in Australia are very gratefully welcoming of our participation in this coalition,” Johnston said. Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, the chief of the Australian Defence Force, said the deployment of air and ground forces to the Middle East was well planned and executed. “The deployment so far has been a significant achievement for the Australian Defence Force. From a standing start we packed up a potent Air Task Group and moved them 12,000 kilometers. We also moved a commando unit over there as well within that time, with all their supporting equipment,” Binskin said. “The team is well trained, they’re well-equipped and they are well-prepared. The Air Task Group has been flying some supporting missions and some training missions over Iraq for the last couple of days and we are ready to get on with the job.” (Source: Defense News)
03 Oct 14. Canada PM asks Parliament to support Iraq Airstrikes. Canada is poised to join the war against the Islamic State group in Iraq after Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday outlined plans to seek a vote on joining the mission. Harper said parliament, where his Tory party enjoys a solid majority, would be asked to vote on the six-month “counter-terrorism” mission on Monday. If the House of Commons greenlights the action as expected, it will be Canada’s first military expedition since Libya in 2011. In his address to the Commons, Harper said an unspecified number of CF-18 fighter jets and air-to-air refueling aircraft would be sent to t