John Kerry insists
any US moves in Iraq will not involve combat troops
Secretary of state says the US will look to ‘additional
options’ to help stabilise a new government, but not troops
Katharine Murphy, Guardian Australia deputy political editor
theguardian.com, Tuesday 12 August 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/12/john-kerry-insists-us-iraq-not-involve-combat-troops
US combat forces will not re-enter Iraq, John Kerry insists, but the US says it will explore more
“political, economic and security options” as the country transitions out of
political deadlock with a new prime minister.
During a visit to Australia for
the annual Ausmin talks, the secretary of state told reporters the US
government congratulated Haider al-Abadi on his nomination, and he urged the
incoming prime minister to form a new, inclusive and functional cabinet “as
swiftly as possible”.
With Nouri al-Maliki effectively
deposed overnight by Iraq’s president in favour of the rival Shia
candidate, Kerry said the Obama administration stood ready to “fully support a
new and inclusive Iraqi government”.
Kerry said the government in Iraq needed to create
circumstances where the “forces of Iraq are not a personal force defined by one
particular sect and sworn to allegiance to one particular leader, but truly
represent Iraq”. With a new “inclusive, participatory” government in Baghdad,
the US would “absolutely look to provide additional options” to help stabilise
the country.
Kerry made it clear this did not mean a return of US combat
troops.
“There will be no reintroduction of American combat forces
into Iraq,” he said. “Nobody, I think, is looking forwards to a return to the
road that we’ve travelled.
“What we’re really looking for here is a way to support
Iraq, support their forces with either training or equipment or assistance of
one kind or another, that can help them to stand on their own two feet and
defend their nation.
“That’s the goal. That’s where the conversation begins.”
Having failed
on Monday to rule out supporting the US if Washington muscled up militarily
in Iraq, Australia’s defence minister, David Johnston, made it clear on Tuesday
that any Australian involvement would be confined to providing humanitarian
assistance through air drops around the Kurdish city of Irbil.
“That’s the role that we will carry out,” Johnston said.
“We’ll fit into and be part of the planning of the United States and other
partners who want to assist on that humanitarian basis. That’s the way we’ll go
forward.”
Australia’s opposition leader, Bill Shorten, had argued
on Tuesday there was no case for Australian forces to return to Iraq.
Shorten, in public remarks before a meeting with Kerry late on Tuesday local
time, highlighted Labor’s “principled stand” against the 2003 invasion.
The Ausmin talks – a regular gathering of foreign and
defence ministers from Australia and the US – also resolved to take a joint
proposal to the United Nations to combat the domestic security threats posed by
returning jihadists from the sectarian conflicts in the Middle East.
The Australian government has announced it will bring
forward a package of legislative changes designed to make it easier to
prosecute Australian-born fighters taking part in terrorist acts overseas.
The Coalition is yet to produce legislation, or fully
fleshed out proposals, but in principle the changes would include a reversed
onus of proof. The government has indicated that any Australians returning from
designated regions – such as Iraq and Syria – will have to prove they were in
the region for a legitimate purpose.
The meeting of US and Australian officials in Sydney
included a lengthy discussion about foreign fighters, and a resolution that the
US and Australia take a “best practice” proposal to the UN.
“We have a responsibility to take this to the United Nations and to the world so that all countries involved
take measures ahead of time to prevent the return of these fighters and the
chaos and havoc that could come with that,” Kerry said on Tuesday.
Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said if the
international community could “exchange ideas and practices and suggestions as
to how we can deal with it, then I think we will have made a great step forward”.
“And so we certainly will support the United States and work
very hard to ensure that we collectively deal with this growing threat to the
security of our nation,” Bishop said.
Australia
Gareth Evans was
a resources & energy minister for Australia,
and the president of the International
Crisis Group.
Note:
George Soros is
a board member for the International
Crisis Group, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Julia Gillard is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was the prime minister of Australia.
Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and John F. Kerry’s brother.
Julia Gillard is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was the prime minister of Australia.
Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and John F. Kerry’s brother.
John F. Kerry is Cameron F. Kerry’s brother, the secretary
at the U.S. Department of State for
the Barack Obama administration, a
governor for the Broadcasting Board of
Governors, and married to Teresa
Heinz Kerry.
Ryan C. Crocker
is a governor for the Broadcasting Board
of Governors, was a U.S. ambassador for Iraq, and a director of governance for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
Coalition
Provisional Authority in Iraq was a transitional government after U.S.
invasion of Iraq.
Teresa Heinz
Kerry is married to John F. Kerry,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Lee H. Hamilton is
an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and was a co-chair for the Iraq Study Group.
Iraq Study Group
made policy recommendations on U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was a member of the Iraq Study Group, is an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American
Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Valerie B. Jarrett
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack
Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Diana
Villiers Negroponte was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is married to John D. Negroponte.
John D. Negroponte
is married to Diana Villiers Negroponte,
was a U.S. ambassador for Iraq, and
the EVP for McGraw Hill Financial Inc.
Lois Dickson
Fitt was a director at McGraw Hill
Financial Inc., a guest scholar at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and is Susan
E. Rice’s mother.
Susan
E. Rice is Lois Dickson Fitt’s daughter,
the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration, was the United Nations U.S. ambassador for the Barack Obama administration, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Cass R. Sunstein
is a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and married to Samantha Power.
Samantha Power is married to Cass R. Sunstein, the United Nations U.S. ambassador for the Barack Obama administration, and was a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Samantha Power is married to Cass R. Sunstein, the United Nations U.S. ambassador for the Barack Obama administration, and was a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Gareth
Evans was the president of the International
Crisis Group, and a resources & energy minister for Australia.
George
Soros is a board member for the International
Crisis Group, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Julia Gillard is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was the prime minister of Australia.
Julia Gillard is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was the prime minister of Australia.
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