16 May 2019

“The Coalition Government must move to withdraw NZ troops out of Iraq as the US threatens a new war on Iran,” said Valerie Morse from Auckland Peace Action.

“At the moment, Germany and The Netherlands have both suspended all troop activity in Iraq as a result of the increasing threats from the US. These two countries are involved in exactly the same mission as NZ Troops, yet the Government here has done nothing.”

“The situation is getting very serious, and we do not want to be in the middle of a new aggressive war that has nothing to do with us.”

“The NZ deployment is due to end in June. The Minister is due to make a decision imminently, and we are concerned that any decision to keep troops in Iraq will be a defacto endorsement of a US war.”

“There seems to be a desire by both the Minister of Defence Ron Mark and shadow Minister Mark Mitchell to find a reason to keep troops in Iraq, rather than having a cold, hard look at what is going on and the real possibility of NZ being caught up in a major new war.”

“The US is seeking to provoke a war with Iran. The US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal despite Iran’s compliance with the agreement. New Zealand must support international law, and that includes condemning the US’s aggression in the Middle East.”

ENDS

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