The Government has announced it will extend its deployment in Iraq by 18 months.
Prime Minister John Key has done a U turn and our troops will remain in Iraq until 2018 well beyond the two‐years set last year.
The news comes as four Iraqi soldiers died in a suicide bombing outside Camp Taji, where New Zealand troops are also based.
Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Political Editor Patrick Gower spoke to Paul Henry this morning about what led him to change his mind how it will affect his chances in next year's election.