Ireland Examining Neutrality After Ukraine War

What's left in this country that the population has any control over anymore?

Headline says they are examining it.

Surely it is good practice to reassess any policy after time to time. Even more so after a change in environment.

We spend 1 billion in so called overseas aid to corrupt third world countries so TBH I'd prefer if it was used on defence instead.

The army themseves say we need to up the defence spend so I'm going to go with their opinion in this instead of looney lefters like that little bell end Paul Murphy.

Who are we afraid of?

It wasn't said in reference to Ireland.

Ive seen that sht bandied about over the years in reference to continental geopolitics. About how Russia has a bazillion tanks and will roll across the continent, Paris in a week etc. And now its debunked as fck.

Russia couldn't roll over a small hill.

And now Germany is going on a shopping spree. Which hammers home the point. Russian ground forces are done as regards any real western movement on the continent.

As for us, I don't think Russia even could stage an invasion of Ireland, no functioning a/c carrier, EU airspace blocked off entirely Mediterranean up to Scandinavia, UK airspace and sea territory roughly wraps around Ireland from 3 sides, their cold water ports are inoperable during winter. Russian naval infantry is only 12,000 personnel. Impossibly awkward supply lines.

They could bomb/rocket us, but destroying our infrastructure is not really showing the world much in the way of fearsome capabilities. We have TDs who do that already.

We need some defense upgrades, and thats about it. No need to change our politics.

I wasn't talking about invasion. Just about causing some damage to the country or it's infrastructure. A way of making a symbolic attack on "the West" without triggering an automatic NATO response. That is not to say that there would be no response, just that it wouldn't trigger one the same as if it did the same thing in England, or off the coast of England, for example.

A lot of Eastern European countries are really beginning to resent our neutrality and when the conflict is fully over the gloves will really come off in terms of criticism like not giving Ukraine weapons that aren't needed by us anyhow, assisting Putin's consigliere for laundering their money along with the military bank and thirdly accusing us of moral cowardice and selfishness that in the long run may cause ructions over a policy most tolerated until now due to simple idleness.

I'd say a part of the unification package from both Washington and Brussels is going to include possible NATO membership, increased defence spending and military training in major army institutes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Anyone who thinks our military neutrality will survive unification is simply for the birds and quite possibly ignoring trends going forward that will make it impossible to keep doing things as it were before last February's invasion because that world ain't coming back no matter how slim or feasible to carry on in the long run.

grand so, we're unofficially aligned with the west in general against Russia in its annexation. job done.

Tell the people of Afghanistan that NATO is a defensive alliance.