The Australian Greens fully endorse a call made by former army chief Peter Leahy today for the Australian parliament to decide when to send our troops to war zones, not just the Prime Minister and executive.

"We have repeatedly said that taking our country to war is one of the biggest decisions any government can make and should therefore be subject to parliamentary approval," said Greens Senator Scott Ludlam.

"Perhaps if this had been the case we might not have found ourselves mired in the Iraq debacle nor the endless war in Afghanistan.

"The usual defence given for keeping these powers with the executive is that parliament would slow decision making in emergency situations. But this could be overcome by the immediate recall of parliament under real emergencies.

"All other comparable developed democracies require parliamentary approval. It's time Labor and the Coalition grew up and saw sense on this issue.

"We will be urging them to back a Greens motion in parliament next week for the Commonwealth Government to follow the US lead and develop an exit plan for Australia's combat troops from Afghanistan," Senator Ludlam said.

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