AP Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says SAS won't be needed to evacuate Australian officials from Iraq.Iraq's ambassador to Australia does not believe his country is in danger of becoming a terrorist state.
The Sunni militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) has taken over key cities in Iraq and is in striking distance of the capital Baghdad.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament on Monday that should ISIL be successful, Iraq could become a "terrorist state" which would be a "security disaster for the Middle East and the wider world".
"We don't see it to that extent," Iraqi ambassador Mouayed Saleh told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
"The army has started taking control of the areas and is waging attacks on the terrorist groups."
Asked whether the United States, Australia and other allies who pulled troops out of Iraq should take any responsibility for the breakdown, the ambassador said: "No, we cannot blame that."
Iraq could need outside assistance from countries such as the US and Australia in terms of intelligence, air strikes and long-range patrol aircraft.
"When the time comes to ask for that, I'm sure we're going to ask for that and some other things that we're going to be needing," he said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who met members of the Assyrian community on Tuesday, told the Labor caucus that Iraq was a giant humanitarian disaster.
"Any steps need to be carefully considered and in the Australian national interest," he said.
The Australian government has begun withdrawing embassy staff from Baghdad and had contingency plans in place.
"We're working closely together with the United States and the United Kingdom on the ground in Iraq to ensure that our staff will be looked after," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.
The US has announced it will deploy about 275 military personnel to help protect its embassy and help American officials.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/24252544/iraq-not-at-risk-of-terror-state-diplomat/
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