Is he aware of the interview conducted with Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki on USA Today on 5 October 2006 during which the Iraqi Prime Minister said: “The problem we face is the way army, police and security forces were formed by multinational forces, during [former coalition provisional authority Chief] Paul Bremer’s time. These forces were built randomly, and that led them to be weak and infiltrated by militias”; if so, what steps are being taken by the Australian military to ensure that it does not provide assistance to elements of the Iraqi security forces that have been infiltrated by militias.

I am aware of Prime Minister Al-Maliki’s interview with USA Today’s Rick Jervis, during which the Prime Minister made the comments as quoted. The Australian Defence Force’s role in southern Iraq is to support the Iraqi Government, which has assumed responsibility for security in the provinces where Australia is working, by providing training and mentoring to the Iraqi security forces. Australia does not play a role in vetting members of the Iraqi Security Forces for possible links to militias as this is the responsibility of the Iraqi authorities.