Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note that the minister did not in any sense address the part of the question that dealt with whether there would be any long-term presence in Iraq, but I will continue. Is the minister aware that the US in Iraq has begun arming Sunni insurgent groups in exchange for halting attacks on US forces? Couldn’t some of these groups have been responsible for attacks against Australian troops? What guarantees can the minister give that the arming of insurgent groups will not cause these groups to attack Australian troops while we are there?