Irish Minister for Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Trade Helen McEntee has confirmed the government will push ahead with plans to scrap Ireland’s long-cherished position of neutrality. The stance has been far from perfectly adhered to, as Ireland has over the years allowed frequent use of its airports for US warplanes, including those assisting so-called ‘Israel’s’ genocide in Palestine.
Nonetheless, the country has avoided involving its troops in any large-scale conflicts for more than a century. It also has unusually low defence spending in comparison to other European nations. McEntee and her government seem determined to change that, however.
On The Anton Savage Show, host Emmet Oliver egged on the push for greater militarisation:
We’ve had a lot of people have been saying for many years: “Why should we give a veto to China and Russia over any military intervention that we get involved in as a sovereign nation?”
Popular ‘Triple Lock’ prevents Irish involvement in war
There’s nothing like a hard-hitting first question that mirrors the exact opinion of the guest. This is symptomatic of general mainstream media support for a march to increased militarisation in Ireland. The question refers to the fact that Ireland can only deploy troops overseas in a number greater than 12 if all three of the following approve it:
– The Irish government
– The Dáil
– The UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly
This is known as the ‘Triple Lock’, in reference to the capacity for any of these bodies to veto Irish troop deployment abroad. As every permanent member (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) of the Security Council can veto any significant decision the Council takes, that enables any one of those nations to block use of Irish forces overseas.
Naturally in agreement with the stenographer she was speaking to, McEntee pledged to kick off the march to likely NATO slavery ASAP:
…I want to get this legislation moved as quickly as possible. I’m hoping to have it published by Easter. And I hope to have it enacted throughout this year.
The legislation referred to is the Defence Amendment Bill which the Irish government has again been pushing forward this week. It would remove the requirement for UN approval, and allow deployment of up to 50 soldiers abroad without Dáil consent.
Lebanon has been used as the sympathetic case for a peacekeeping deployment of Irish forces, who have been present in the country since 1978. The government has been desperately trying to find an angle to push the new measures through, given strong public support for continued neutrality. With high Irish pro-Palestine sentiment, the idea of local soldiers being present to help ward off further brutal assault by Israeli Occupation Forces is obviously an appealing cause.
However, it’s difficult to see how much difference a small UN force can currently make against a nuclear-armed brute prepared to break all international law.
Neutrality end likely means NATO alignment
The more likely result of changes to the law is closer alignment to the self-destructing NATO, ‘led’ by an erratic fascist currently killing his own citizens. As Workers’ Party representative for Meath East Gerry Rooney outlined:
The removal of the UN element of the Triple Lock is blatantly designed to allow the government to align even more closely with NATO. They have made it clear that, even if outright membership isn’t a runner just yet, they will seek to cosy up as close as they can.
Our neutrality is suffering the fate of a frog in warm water being slowly but surely brought to a boil.
He continued:
A government that, for 20 years, has been unwilling to spend €5 million or €10 million a year to pay a living wage to our soldiers, and is unable to put even two of Naval Service’s eight ships to sea, now claims to care deeply about defence and security.
What they really appear to care about is pacifying their superiors in Brussels and Washington, and lining the pockets of international arms companies.
As discussed previously in The Canary, there are companies eyeing a potential bonanza from Ireland ramping up its defence spending. There’s also a push from other NATO members for this increase, given Ireland hosts a great deal of crucial infrastructure for the digital economy, mainly that of US tech giants. That’s money that could otherwise be spent on actually useful stuff, like housing, health care and education.
The spectre of Russia and China controlling Irish armed forces through Security Council veto is the fear typically raised by the media. However, with the Triple Lock scrapped, Ireland is far more likely to be at the beck and call of the US. Control from Washington should be of more concern than from anywhere else, given its genocidal policies and obviously heightened warmongering.
This vassal status was confirmed by McEntee’s response to a question about the upcoming visit of the Irish government to the White House in March. There they will once again embarrass themselves prostrating before Emperor Trump. Asked by Oliver if Irish representatives would challenge Trump on recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence, McEntee dodged the question:
…I’ve no doubt [the Taoiseach’s agenda] could be set in the coming weeks. And there are opportunities both publicly but also in private for the Taoiseach to have a conversation with the president on many different issues.
As previously respected non-aligned nations like Finland and Sweden abandon that stance to join the NATO war machine, the world is rapidly losing potential peacemakers. Ireland seems keen to accelerate that process, and sidle up to a volatile alliance making the world less safe.
Featured image via the Canary
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