An Australian soldier marches with his nation's flag
An Australian soldier marches with his nation's flag during an ANZAC Day parade. Reuters/Jason Reed

Australia might soon have to deal with America’s call for more boots against the Islamic State. A former army chief warned that the country might need to make a greater contribution to help beat the IA.

In an opinion piece written by Peter Leahy, he stated that a more robust and confrontational approach from the US could be on the way. In relation to this, Australia may be required to review its alliance with Washington’s policies and actions.

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Leahy predicted that this might result to a call for “more troops on the ground, including a greater effort from regional countries and allies.”

“He (Flynn) will recommend the use of all elements of national power: diplomatic, information, military and economic,” Leahy said.

In a speech delivered at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged that boots on the ground are pivotal to beat the IS. He was able to make it clear that they “must be the right boots on the right ground.”

Turnbull cited the retaking of Ramadi as an example. “Led by the Iraqis themselves, assisted by the Coalition's respective air and special forces, it was not just a blow to ISIL, but an example of the right combination,” he said.

CNN reported last month that the Pentagon said it believes that Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is alive. Baghdadi is the leader of the Sunni militant terrorist organisation known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which controls territory in western Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan.

“We do think Baghdadi is alive and is still leading ISIL and we are obviously doing everything we can to track his movements,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.

The United States raised the bounty on the shadowy IS leader’s head to $25 million in mid-December.

Based on an official Iraqi government document, Baghdadi was born in Samarra in 1971. The Advertiser reported that a video of him was released in 2014. The clip showed a man with a black and grey beard wearing a black robe and matching turban.