Robert Ayson

For the opposition this is like' let's not repeat 2003 [ the Iraq invasion ].' This is of course not like 2003, this is not an unrequested invasion, given that there are 62 countries in the coalition it's not like Iraq in 2003. It's almost as if opposition parties in New Zealand are wanting to avoid the last war.

It's quite possible that the government felt that it could get wider public support if this was just a training mission, but it hasn't been able to convince the opposition.