On Tuesday the Australian Government confirmed that about 300 ADF personnel, drawn largely from the Army’s 7th Brigade based in Brisbane, will be committed to the international Building Partner Capacity (BPC) training mission in Iraq.
No. 1 Squadron F/A-18F Super Hornets and personnel return to RAAF Base Amberley after completing the first rotation of Operation Okra. Personnel are welcomed home by family and friends.
Russia's broken navy, the Cybercaliphate, Anonymous and French TV. For those with a little downtime this weekend here are some good reads.
Operation OKRA is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) contribution to the coalition operation against Islamic State in Iraq. Operation OKRA is closely coordinated with the Iraqi government, Gulf nations and a broad coalition of international partners.
Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today that Australian U.S. and coalition defence forces have continued to pound Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
A generation of children, some as young as five, are being trained by Islamic State to become hardened, remorseless killers. For many children this essentially removes all hope of them ever leading a peaceful existence in this life. For the rest of the world it leaves us with a generation of mentally damaged future adults who will inevitably perpetuate the madness that their parents and mentors have instilled in them.
New Zealand's Prime Minister has leaked Australian Government plans to send additional ADF troops to Iraq during a statement in NZ Parliament. This expansion of Operation OKRA could bring the number of Australian troops in Iraq to 400.
Under questioning the Chief of the Australian Defence Force Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin avoided confirming the news.
"I and my New Zealand counterpart have worked very closely on developing options that were put to both governments," he told a Senate committee.
"The Government of Australia is yet to make a final decision."
It is expected that Prime Minister Tony Abbott will announce the deployment some time this week.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will visit Iran in April to play a pivotal role in discussions on Sunni extremism and Islamic State. The last Australian foreign affairs minister to visit Tehran was Alexander Downer in 2003 and in the past 10 years only one western official has officially visited Iran.
Aside from the significance surrounding the fast emerging extremist threat the visit also holds significant economic potential for Australia including potential opportunity to reopen trade in grains, meat and other key areas.
The visit comes as a result of a direct invitation from Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Julie Bishop will also visit Baghdad and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The current Israel Netanyahu government is likely to find this development a challenge to its hard line stance against Iran - in particular its potential nuclear ambitions. For the United States however, the engagement between Iran and Austraila comes at a critical time as it seeks to reach an important nuclear agreement with Iran in the next few weeks.
Should relations between Iran and the west thaw on the back of this agreement, Julie Bishop's visit could place Australia in a front row position for new trade and security cooperation opportunities.
Today the Prime Minister Tony Abbott talked tough on terrorism during his national security statement held at Australian Federal Police headquarters in Canberra. His statement included the announcement of a number of new measures focused on ISIS style threats within and against Australia.
The event was attended by fellow ministers as well as a range of agencies including AFP, State Police, ASIO, Australian Defence Force and Crimtrack. The PM identified each of these agencies as being “on the front line in the fight against terrorism.”
Video update on Operation Impact. The Canadian contribution to the coalition fight against ISIL in Iraq. 16 Feb 2015. Captain Paul Forget reports that operations have ISIS under pressure. Watch video here and read transcript.