Australia’s support for US and Israeli action against Iran highlights a growing reliance on military responses over diplomacy and international law.

Australia’s support for the US and Israeli attacks on Iran highlights yet again the dire need in this country for a focus on peace. Not the ‘peace through strength’ myth that is leading us towards further major wars, but peace through the rules-based order which is so selectively invoked by our government, and through a host of other available measures.

The current disastrous war on Iran lacks legal basis or consistent and legitimate objectives, and was instigated by US and Israeli self-interest. Prime Minister Albanese eagerly and almost instantly gave unqualified support to it.

With the commitment now of Australian Defence Force equipment and personnel to “defensive action” in the UAE, the Prime Minister insists there will be no Australian “boots on the ground in Iran”. But the distinction between ground forces and other forms of involvement is misleading. In modern warfare, intelligence sharing, surveillance, logistics and interoperability between allied forces are central, not peripheral, to war-fighting.

It is very likely that Australian operations in the UAE will operate under US authorities – who show little interest in the distinction between offensive and defensive actions. Regardless, ADF personnel in the UAE will be combatants under international law, and Australia is now a party to this conflict.

In emphasising a narrow defensive role, the PM seeks to minimise and sanitise........

© Pearls and Irritations