17 Jan 2020
Winston Peters says troops will stay in Iraq
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the government will be sticking to its commitment to Iraq, leaving troops there until June, despite calls for their withdrawal. Mr Peters made the comments to RNZ in his first interview since a rocket attack near Camp Taji earlier this week. Rockets landed approximately three kilometres away for Camp Taji, where 45 New Zealand troops are training Iraqi forces. The Greens said this was further evidence that the troops should be pulled out now. But Mr Peters told RNZ political reporter Jo Moir that this isn't an unusual occurance, and it's important not to have a knee-jerk reaction.