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Over the past year, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made a number of international headlines for his uniquebrand of Aussie conservatism. In just a few months, he threatened to body slam Vladimir Putin, announced plans to knight Queen Elizabeth's husbandand wasrepeatedly accused of sexism.

Yet a story published Friday in theAustralian newspaper claimedto show that Abbott had taken his macho behavior into the realm of geopolitical absurdity by suggesting a unilateral Australian "invasion" of Iraq.

According to the Australian's John Lyons, Abbott became interested in sending thousands of Australian troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State in November asthe extremist group's military success in Iraq and Syria became apparent. He raised the issue with his staff, including controversial Chief of Staff Peta Credlin,Lyons reports,and none saw any issue with it.

It was only when themilitary became involved that the proposal dubbed an "invasion" in the Australian mediafell apart. The military officials were stunned, telling Mr Abbott that sending 3,500 Australian soldiers without any US or NATO cover would be disastrous for the Australians,"Lyons wrote.

Deep fearsabout domestic terrorism has made the Islamic State an issue of pressing concern in Australia, and the country does have a few hundreds troops in Iraqacting as advisers. Thecountry's military is relatively small, however less than 60,000in active manpower, a fraction ofthe United States' 1.5 million and the country has neverdeclared war unilaterally before. Despite the country's involvement in the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq a little over a decade ago, for manyAustralians the idea of a military action without the backing of other countries seems insane.

Over the weekend, Abbott sternly deniedthe report, sayingthat from the beginning there have never been anyplans to put Australian combat troops into Iraq. "It is fanciful, absolutely fanciful," Abbott told reporters, arguing that Lyons had never contacted his office about the story. A number of government ministers also suggested that the report was absurd.

"Australiadoes not act unilaterally inthe Middle East," the Australian prime minister said. "We work with our partners and allies to meetthreats to our vital nationalinterests and to the vitalnational interests of ourfriends and partners. That'swhat we do."

Defense officials have come out to discredit the report, too."The Chief of the Defense Force [Marshal Mark Binskin] does not recall, or have any record of any task from the Prime Minister to examine the possibility of a large scale deployment to Iraq of the nature described in today's media reports," a defense spokesman told Fairfax Media.

The Australian has said it is standing by its initial story, and in a follow-up over the weekend, it pointed out that Abbott had repeatedly said there was no "formal" proposal to invade Iraq a sign, the newspaper seemed to suggest, that a more informal talk about an invasion of Iraq had occurred. The Australian's editor,Clive Mathieson, also said that the Australian never implied that Marshal Binskin was involved in talks about the "invasion" and that his reporters had contacted Abbott's office twice.

It's a big problem for the Australian prime minister. The Sydney Morning Herald points out that Abbott's government has been hit by a series of leaks recently, indications ofa conflict behind the scenes in his governing Liberal Party.Whether Abbott brought up an Iraqi invasion formally, informally or simply not at all, the Australian's story touched a nerve.

Read more here:
WorldViews: Reported plan to invade Iraq last year rocks Australian politics

Story highlights Prime Minister John Key confirms New Zealand troops to be deployed to Iraq 143 troops will be part of a non-combat training mission to help Iraq fight ISIS NZ has "an obligation to support stability and the rule of law," Key tells lawmakers

In a two-year mission likely to start in May, New Zealand personnel will train Iraq security forces at the Taji Military Complex north of Baghdad, Key said. He said soldiers would provide protection for the training force.

Key said ISIS -- also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) -- posed a threat to stability in regions beyond the Middle East and New Zealand had "an obligation" to help support the rule of law internationally.

"New Zealand is a country that stands up for its values. We stand up for what is right," he told parliament. "We do not shy away from taking our share of the burden when the international rules based system is threatened as it is today."

Key said attacks in Ottawa, Sydney and Paris had underscored the risk of complacency. "To those who argue that we should not take action because it raises the threat, I say this 'the risk associated with ISIL becoming stronger and more widespread far outweighs this.'"

In a statement, Key referred to New Zealanders as "prolific travelers" who were not immune from the risk posed by ISIS. "ISIL's brutality has only worsened and its outrageous actions have united an international coalition of around 62 countries to fight and degrade the group," he said.

Who's doing what in the coalition battle against ISIS?

Opposition leaders were quick to condemn the decision, which they said should have been debated and voted on in parliament.

Labour leader Andrew Little said his party was opposed to sending troops to Iraq and that it was unlikely they would remain behind the front line.

"The Prime Minister says they will be behind the wire but we know they will not be. They cannot stick there, they cannot stay there, that is not all they will do. They will not just be behind the wire; they will be exposed to the much wider conflict; it will not be just the soldiers we send to the Iraq, it will be Kiwis traveling around the world," Little said.

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NZ to send troops to Iraq

The Prime Minister has phoned his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, to tell him of New Zealand's decision to deploy troops to Iraq.

The Iraqis have also been informed.

John Key will make his announcement to the New Zealand public this afternoon, but New Zealand troops in Iraq won't be used to provide intelligence to identify targets for air strikes.

Key says intelligence will be gathered, but only with our military trainers in mind.

"What would be occurring would be collection on the basis to support our activities there and only our activities there, but that position can change and that's yet to determined how we might provide that intelligence.

"But you would expect us to provide that intelligence to make sure our people are safe."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has been attacked for telling his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott and the Iraqis of his decision to deploy troops to Iraq before telling the New Zealand public.

Labour's Andrew Little says the New Zealand public should have been told of such a significant decision before he told others.

"Well, I think the New Zealand public are entitled to know before others knew.

"Once Cabinet made the decision, the Prime Minister should have fronted up to all of New Zealand at the time the decision was made - not leading us on a merry dance until we know later on today."

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Iraq announcement looms

Another Suspect NBC News Clip from the Iraq War
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Iraq #39;s Deputy PM speaks on the ISIS air strike
CNN speaks with the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq about defeating ISIS in the Middle East.

By: CNN

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Iraq's Deputy PM speaks on the ISIS air strike - Video