The Government has broken its promise to keep New Zealand’s Iraq deployment to two years, putting our troops in further danger, the Green Party said today.
This afternoon the Government announced that it would be extending the mandate and the length of the current NZDF deployment to Iraq until November 2018.
“A hundred thousand people are fleeing Fallujah and humanitarian agencies are overwhelmed. New Zealand should be contributing the $50 million that has now been committed to this deployment to humanitarian efforts in the region,” said Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
“John Key went to Camp Taji and made a promise that New Zealand troops would not serve longer than two years, but mission creep has set in a mere seven months later.
“The NZDF deployment to Iraq does not make us safer, but puts New Zealand troops at risk and makes New Zealanders unnecessary targets of ISIL.
“We condemn the horrific violence of ISIL. New Zealand should be using its leverage as a member of the UN Security Council to curb ISIL’s access to funding and arms, not keeping our troops in danger for another year and a half,” said Mr Shaw.
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