Joe Trinder Mana News editor

New Zealand is adopting the foreign policy of the United States and avoiding any self-determination as the National government is determined to get New Zealand  involved in the military intervention against Islamic state.

The Islamic state evolved from prisoners in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, who were radicalised due to torture and prisoner abuse by US army military police. Sending in military from Christian nations like New Zealand will be perceived as another crusade. Western interference just strengthens radicals like Islamic state. The only country from this region that should be deploying troops to Iraq is Indonesia. Islamic nations should be taking the lead in the war against Islamic state. This way Islamic state can’t recruit based on the infidels crusade against Islam.

In the Prime ministers speech at Waitangi on 5^th Feb he spoke of human rights, those human rights abuses are in the Middle East. In West Papua innocent civilians are being tortured and killed and we are ignoring those human rights abuses by the Indonesian military. Why doesn’t New Zealand’s foreign policy stabilise our part of the world instead of interfering in the Middle East.

As in every instance New Zealand has followed US foreign policy they were on the wrong side of history. The Vietnam War and the Invasion of Iraq 2003 and the weapons mass destruction that never existed.

Then we are told that we are buying Allies –too protect us from what? Another theory is that supporting foreign wars improves trade relations. Where is the evidence our involvement in US led invasions has improved trade.  Panama, Colombia and Peru all have free trade agreements with the United States they didn’t send an artillery battery to the Vietnam War. The United States has free trade agreements in force with 20 countries and New Zealand isn’t one of them.

The countries that have come with cap in hand asking for our SAS, why didn’t they offer a free trade agreement before asking for our troops to die on their battlefields. The Iraqi foreign minister didn’t permit New Zealand lamb and milk to flood Iraqi markets.

Often defence force personnel justify their deployment by saying they are serving their country by improving trade relations when nothing of the sort is being done. Those trade relations don’t improve any more than countries that don’t participate. e.g Panama, Colombia and Peru.

When the Prime minister infers he is passionate about human rights but failed to attend the funerals of Lance Corporals Pralli Durrer and Rory Malone. It gets hard to believe how genuine the PM is about sending our troops to Iraq in the fight for human rights.

Islamaphobia is rampant in New Zealand, being fuelled by Whale oil and Kiwiblog. Maori have been on the receiving end of this type of public distrust in the 2005 elections, Nationals Kiwi/Iwi campaign. When Don Brash formed the perception Maori New Zealanders were hostile over the foreshore and seabed debate.

US foreign policy is not popular with New Zealanders and the military intervention against ISIS could easily escalate into another unpopular Vietnam War. New Zealand should focus on Human rights in the pacific and stabilise our part of the world.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” Edmund Burke