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Welcome to War Powers Reform Bulletin #65
No war with Iran: No war without parliament
Media reports from the G20 in Osaka last weekend indicate that Prime Minister Scott Morrison is keeping open the option of Australian involvement in any US military action against Iran. Mr Morrison reportedly said, "There's a clear objective here from the United States, which we support."
Yet Iran had been limiting its uranium enrichment to below the level agreed in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and is not proceeding towards development of nuclear weapons.
Last year President Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA, imposed economic sanctions, and threatened other countries which trade with Iran. In April 2019 he designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organisation. In May he sent a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East, and anticipated deploying 120,000 or more US troops. In June two attacks on tankers in the Gulf were blamed on Iran, without robust evidence; a rocket was fired into Baghdad’s Green Zone; and confrontation occurred with US proxy fighters in the Persian Gulf. President Trump came close to ordering an attack on Iran.
Reports that Iran was responsible for these provocations have been widely questioned. Iran denies all but shooting down a US drone in June, which it says was in Iranian airspace.
The ANZUS alliance does not oblige Australia to join a US war against Iran. In the absence of a credible threat to Australia and without a Resolution of the UN Security Council, any Australian involvement in an attack on Iran would be an act of aggression and therefore illegal.
A priority for Parliament’s first sitting weeks should be a debate on the growing tensions between the US and Iran, and steps which Australia could take to reduce the danger of armed conflict. Such a debate and a vote by all our elected representatives, and consultation with the Governor-General as Commander-in-Chief, are absolute prerequisites before any military action by Australia.
Read full article by AWPR President Paul Barratt on Iran
Read Paul Barratt's letter to the Prime Minister on behalf of Australians for War Powers Reform
Sign a petition saying no to Australian involvement in a war with Iran
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SUPPORT OUR WORK AS A MEMBER: JOIN OR RENEW HERE
Dear members, the progress we have made in the past year is very gratifying. I cannot stress too highly the crucial importance of AWPR maintaining and expanding its strong base of informed and committed members as we build on the gains of the past year (see my report below). Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Best wishes, Paul Barratt
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US House of Reps repeals 2001 Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF)
The US House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill which included a provision repealing the AUMF (a post-9/11 law giving the president widespread authority to instigate military action). The new provision states: “ nothing in this Act may be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran.”
While the repeal has passed through the Democratic-led House, it is unlikely to pass the Republican-led Senate. No Republican reps voted for the bill.
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Displaced people march at Marawi City for the right to return, April 2018. Photo: Tindeg Ranao
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Let’s question Australia’s secretive military buildup in the Philippines
US President Donald Trump's 19 December 2018 announcement of a US military pull-out from Syria rang alarm bells with 'allies' around the world, including Australia. Two days later Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that his government was consulting the US administration and that it would continue its military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In reporting these events The Australian ($) listed the number of troops Australia has deployed overseas, including the surprising figure of 300 in the Philippines, equal to the Afghanistan deployment.
But no published report can explain this large number.
Eighteen months earlier, in June 2017, the Liberal Party had invited US General and former CIA Director, David Petraeus, to be a keynote speaker at its Council meeting in Sydney. Petraeus made a startling statement about the Philippines. He suggested Australia may have to take the lead in combating Islamic State in the Philippines, where the fighting at Marawi City in Mindanao was already entering its second month. The general described Malcolm Turnbull as a "war-time prime minister" and said he would have to grapple with when, and to what extent, Australia should intervene in regional disputes.
"Now there will be some [conflicts], like in the Philippines, let’s say, where Australia will either lead or play a very significant role; Mali, where the French took the lead. But you will still even there find very substantial contributions from the United States," Petraeus said.
Soon after the Marawi fighting ended in October 2017, the Turnbull government announced that eighty troops would provide urban warfare training to the Philippines Army and a year later, apparently at the end of the mission, this operation was reported by an embedded journalist, David Wroe, in early December 2018. In May 2018 there was a slight scandal when the Federal Budget blacked out the costing of “Operation Augury – Philippines.” It was later published at $40 million for 2018-19.
Despite official denials, Australian troops have been stationed in the Philippines since an SAS fast boat unit was deployed to Mindanao in 2006, perhaps earlier. (See also this 2009 speech by the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines which notes Australia's "practical assistance" to the Philippine Navy.) A Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Australia and the Philippines was signed during the Howard government in May 2007 and came into force under the Gillard government in September 2012. This now provides the framework for joint military exercises in the Philippines.
While official Australian defence statements about the Philippines are framed either as anti-terrorist or more narrowly anti-Islamic State, and claim that Australia is under a direct threat from terrorists in the Philippines (example), the context is the increasing military tension between the United States and China.
The US and the Philippines concluded a Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999, which provided US forces with access to many military facilities and this was strengthened in 2014 with the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, which is an executive agreement rather than a treaty. At least 5,000 US troops are on rotation in the Philippines at any time, under the VFA, and the annual Balikatan Joint Military Exercises are a key feature. Balikatan is a Tagalog word meaning "shoulder-to-shoulder". The exercises have been the cornerstone of Philippines–United States military relations since the US bases in the Philippines closed and Balikatan 2019 was their 32nd iteration. Australian troops have taken part in the last six Balikatan exercises, with Special Forces being the key element. The broad aim of the exercises is to enhance interoperability between the militaries of the three nations.
The Australian people have a right to know the scale, purpose and cost of this expanded military presence in the Philippines. Is it to wage war on Filipinos embroiled in longstanding internal conflicts, mainly over land? Is it to use the Philippines as a base for war with China?
For decades, Australia has provided training for Filipino military officers in Australia as well as provided some budget support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs argues that this longstanding aid and 'the relationship' is about improving human rights. This is truly laughable after even a cursory glance at the human rights reality in the Philippines. One of the most celebrated 'graduates' of Australia’s Military Staff College and Canungra Jungle Training School is the notorious Major General Jovito Palparan. Palparan and two military accomplices were found guilty on 17 September 2018 of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in the 2006 disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. They were finally jailed in 2018 to serve sentences of up to 40 years. The two young women have not been found.
Peter Murphy
Journalist; Chairperson, Global Council of International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
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CAMPAIGN UPDATE by PAUL BARRATT, AWPR PRESIDENT
2018 and the first few months of this year were an exciting and transformational time for AWPR. Towards the end of 2017 one of our members made a substantial donation enabling us to lift our activity to a new level. We also had the benefit of pro bono high level campaign skills. Major progress was achieved when the ALP National Conference resolved that during the life of the next Parliament an incoming Labor Government would hold a parliamentary inquiry into how Australia goes to war.
However, the Federal election did not then turn out as many had expected. Our task now is to continue our work in a less than welcoming political environment. Our plans are to:
- shift our emphasis from the abstract principle that Parliament should decide before the country goes to war, to a concentration on specific potential deployments, focusing on the immediate example of Iran
- build support on the crossbench and within the Labor caucus
- continue assisting interested parliamentarians to draft questions on notice and look for an opportunity for an inquiry into the war powers sponsored by them
- send an open letter to the Prime Minister - done; read it here - and collect further signatories for it from campaign partners (our arguments are published separately here)
- look for more media opportunities
- continue FOI requests to unearth more facts about past/current deployments
- continue our fundraising efforts.
As we build the mass base of support needed to capture political attention, we will continue to issue material at a deeper level of engagement for AWPR members and supporters who are looking for that.
We warmly welcome your feedback and encourage those of you who are not yet members to join us. |
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