Seldom have we seen Prime Minister John Key as angry as he was in addressing Parliament yesterday, when he announced he was sending our troops to Iraq to join the fight against Islamic State or Isil fighters
Mr Key has built a reputation for being a cool head under pressure and normally the angriest he gets in public is when he gives a curt answer and a forced smile.
Clearly he was nervous about this speech because he knew he was going to be questioned about whether the decision had been made months before at the behest of the United States and why he was not allowing Parliament to vote on the matter as countries like Canada had done. He wasted no time in saying he was sending a non-combat training mission with Australia to Taji Camp, north of Baghdad, with up to 143 New Zealand personnel to be deployed.
His inner turmoil was clear in the way he launched an angry counter-attack on Labour leader Andrew Little, who said his party opposed the deployment. Mr Key said Mr Little needed to "get some guts" and questioned whether he would make the right decisions for New Zealand.
Whatever position you take on this, Mr Key is in an unenviable position. Obviously, there is pressure from the United States, Australia and the rest of the coalition to join the fight in some capacity. However, he also knows how strongly Kiwis feel when one of their own is put in harm's way.
