Thank you for the question.
Through the chair, first I think we should be very clear about what a combat operation is. It is, defined in military doctrine, a military operation in which the use of force is essential to accomplish a mission. A non-combat operation, which is exactly what we have a mandate for in advise and assist, is one in which the military, and certainly our special operation forces, carry weaponry but it is used only in self defence.
When I made my comments in October, those were based on 15 years as a fighter pilot working with tactical air controllers. The tactical air controllers I worked with had always been on the very front. What I had not anticipated in October was that those tactical air controllers would be able to develop techniques that would allow them, from the relative safety of their advise and assist positions, to be able to help the peshmerga, Iraqi security forces, to bring weaponry of coalition bombers to bear. So in fact I provided them, within the advise and assist mission, the authority to go ahead with that well within the mandate given to us by the government.