Peace Action Wellington is calling for an immediate end to NZDF training with US forces amidst the illegal US-Israeli war against Iran. The Defence Force plans to send 50 personnel to a big aerial and ground drones exercise in the United States alongside US forces.

The US Project Convergence training exercise includes 6000+ troops from the US, Australia, UK, France, Japan and Canada. This training follows on a three month NZDF deployment of 34 infantry troops to Korea to train alongside Korean and US forces that started in March, and the participation of the NZDF in Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) competition hosted by the US Marine Corp at Camp Pendleton in California."

"The NZDF is deeply embedded with the US military now and regularly conducts training to ensure the 'interoperability' of NZ troops into US combat operations. This is despite the US and Israel waging an aggressive war against Iran and bombing countries without provocation," said Valerie Morse

Aggressive war is often referred to as the "supreme international crime" because it encompasses the planning, initiation, and waging of war in violation of international law. This concept was notably established during the Nuremberg Trials, where leaders were held accountable for such actions.

"The US is deeply complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity for the funding of the genocide in Gaza over the past 2+ years. Furthermore, the current commander in chief has threatened to commit war crimes in Iran by 'bombing it back to the stone age'."

"New Zealand should have nothing to do with war criminals and those who actively destroy international law. The NZDF should operate with countries that uphold international law and do not wage aggressive wars."

Peace Action Wellington has today launched a petition aimed at ending troop training with the US military.

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