No Australian combat troops to fight in Middle East

Sydney : The so-called Islamic State (IS) group is weak and Australia has no plans to send combat troops to fight it, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.Mr Turnbull was speaking after terror attacks in Paris claimed by IS.His remarks contrasted with former prime minister Tony Abbott’s description of IS as a “death cult”. Mr Abbott, now serving as a backbench MP, called for Australia to commit combat troops to the Middle East after the Paris attacks.Australia is part of a US-led coalition bombing the group in Iraq and Syria.
IS hype
Mr Turnbull told Australia’s House of Representatives that IS relied on its propaganda network and “we must not be fooled by its hype”.But the group must be defeated militarily in Iraq and Syria, where it has overrun vast swathes of territory, he said.”Its ideology is archaic, but its use of the internet is very modern. ISIL has many more smartphones than guns, more Twitter accounts than fighters.”It does not command broad-based legitimacy even in those areas under its direct control. It is encircled by hostile forces. It is under military pressure.”Mr Turnbull made the comments as part of national security statement to Australia’s parliament.
Analysis: Shaun Davies, Australia Editor, BBC News website
Tony Abbott never backed away from his description of the so-called Islamic State (IS) as a “death cult”. When terrorism experts said IS would be delighted that his colourful description promoted the group’s propaganda aims, Mr Abbott was dismissive. “I think we should call things what they are,” he said in June this year.Fast-forward five months and Australia’s political landscape is very different. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who deposed Mr Abbott in September, wants to undercut IS’s effective propaganda.Rather than boots on the ground, Mr Turnbull is focusing on a war of ideas.