100% agreed with this article. The whole idea of Ireland's supposed neutrality is a farce. Does anyone really think that if a country like Russia decided to full-on invade Ireland, other European nations would just shrug it off? Of course not, and the Irish are well aware of that and rely on it (already they explicitly rely on the UK to help defend their country as a matter of policy).
So really it's a simple hypocrisy, a one-way street. You help us, but we don't help you. We're too principled to help others, you see.
Except the Irish army has conducted large numbers of peacekeeping missions as part of the United Nations. Irish soldiers have died in said operations. The Siege at Jadotville is one example - there is a pretty great film about this.
If Russia decided to full-on invade Ireland, a country of 4.5 million (as completely absurd as this idea is, being Ireland where it is) having its own military would not help Ireland- it should better capitulate quickly to limit damage.
Ireland having 0 military capabilities, and being completely dependent on NATO, while being extremely opinionated, on how and what NATO does, always irked me deeply.
Ireland doesn't have exactly zero military capabilities. For example they have a military base in Lebanon. They have a decades long solidarity with Hezbollah and solidarity demonstrations are commonplace
Ireland doesn't have 0 military capabilities, they have enough of a military to conduct peacekeeping missions elsewhere, which they don't need to do. They just don't have the ability to defend an invasion, but they do certainly have a military that does good in the world.
You know, there’s something to be said for Ireland’s attitude. The other islands (ha!) and the continent have treated them as second-class chattel for centuries, while competing amongst themselves for global hegemony. Better to stay out of that game and sort their own business, many of them think.
The Russians are making incursions into Irish waters and airspace, it's just a brute fact. So either they play the game, or Britain plays it for them. They don't get to sit aloof above it all, that's not how reality works.
They are a protectorate in all but name, it's disgraceful.
The article addresses this unfortunate attitude: the whole premise of your question is, "well they'd have to go through these other countries first, so not our problem".
It's a bit like if Kansas refused to pay anything towards the defense budget because any hostile powers would have to go through all those other states first.
But, as the article also notes, air and sea power are things. If a hostile power decides to fuck with one of the many undersea Internet cables that make their way to and through Ireland, what's Ireland going to do about it?
Inability through choice, it should be clarified, given the title the poster or mods decided upon. Perhaps "unwillingness" is more accurate - they are a rich country after all, what with all that GDP
I think Ireland's commitment to pacifism and neutrality is laudable. Too few people live here to be able to defend against attacks from a larger power, and Ireland's strong suit has always been diplomacy, anyway. That obviously annoys people who either (for some unfathomable reason) like war or stand to gain personally from increased defence spending. Fortunately, there is little appetite for the kind of militarisation that the author of this article is hoping for. I'll add, too, that societies organised around the sort of violence, hostility, aggression, and cynicism that go hand in hand with powerful militaries don't seem to be very nice places to live.
There are legitimate practical issues with Ireland not being capable of policing its airspace or marine borders that don't go away just because Ireland is good at diplomacy (an assertion which I question in the first place).
This assumes that all nation and political actors will be happy to engage in democracy, which isn't the case. Not every country is a rational liberal democracy (and even those are having a rough time).
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|3 months ago|reply
So really it's a simple hypocrisy, a one-way street. You help us, but we don't help you. We're too principled to help others, you see.
[+] [-] tonymet|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] beezlewax|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] throw310822|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] osiris970|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] culi|3 months ago|reply
https://rebelbreeze.com/2024/09/21/dublin-demonstration-in-s...
[+] [-] happytoexplain|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] reorder9695|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] sonofhans|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] _dain_|3 months ago|reply
The Russians are making incursions into Irish waters and airspace, it's just a brute fact. So either they play the game, or Britain plays it for them. They don't get to sit aloof above it all, that's not how reality works.
They are a protectorate in all but name, it's disgraceful.
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] istultus|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] jmclnx|3 months ago|reply
IIRC, doesn't Ireland pay the UK for some type of defense ?
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|3 months ago|reply
The article addresses this unfortunate attitude: the whole premise of your question is, "well they'd have to go through these other countries first, so not our problem".
It's a bit like if Kansas refused to pay anything towards the defense budget because any hostile powers would have to go through all those other states first.
But, as the article also notes, air and sea power are things. If a hostile power decides to fuck with one of the many undersea Internet cables that make their way to and through Ireland, what's Ireland going to do about it?
[+] [-] _dain_|3 months ago|reply
>IIRC, doesn't Ireland pay the UK for some type of defense ?
No, we do it for free.
[+] [-] Ekaros|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] hexbin010|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] cdilld|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] dralley|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] osiris970|3 months ago|reply
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|3 months ago|reply
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