Turnbull says no to changing the bombing rules of engagement in Syria

*faints*

It appears the Turnbull gov is nothing like the war mongering Team Abbott. Team Abbott is harking from the wilderness to send in troops to Syria. The Turnbull gov however won't even change the rules of Australia's current bombing raids in Syria, citing they are there for a reason to limit civilian casualties.

The US is upping the anti and chucked out those rules. The Royal Australian Air Force however is sticking to it's guns and not following the US into mindless bombing that will kill the civilian population.

Again. Do we become like them to defeat them? If so what is the point?

The Turnbull government plans to stick with the RAAF's strict rules of engagement to avoid civilian casualties from its bombing raids in Iraq and Syria, putting it at odds with Washington's plans to ramp up the air campaign against the Islamic State group. 

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said late last week that the US was "prepared to change the rules of engagement", referring to the tight strictures on when weapons can be released. These rules ensure air strikes are lawful and do not pose an unacceptable risk to civilians. 

However, both in the US and Australia, these rules are increasingly being criticised as too tight, making it hard to hit IS targets and meaning that many missions return to base without dropping bombs. 

Those criticisms have been amplified in the wake of the Paris attacks. 

But Defence Minister Marise Payne told Fairfax Media that the government has "no plans to change Australia's rules of engagement". 

"Members of the Australian Defence Force operate under strict rules of engagement designed to protect our forces and minimise the risk of injury to civilian non-combatants and strictly comply with Australia's obligations under domestic and international law," she said. 

Dr Carter said the US had already started hitting IS fuel trucks, which had not previously been within Washington's rules. 

Australia and other countries in the Western-led coalition work through a central command that is led by the US, meaning Australian pilots are often tasked by American commanders. 

But Australia has its own rules of engagement – as does each country – and the final decision on whether to release a weapon always rests with the RAAF pilot. Brisbane Times