Great debate all, Dev, I agree with your point of "can be we neutral anymore". That's my assertion, the traditional definition of neutrality in the 21st century is largely irrelevant when the threat is trans-national, non government actors. Regardless of where you are in the world and what your status is, the bad actors simply see westerners (infidels or whatever as pointed out above), not "Irish peacekeepers". The people with the guns and IED's don't go "hold on, don't fire, sure it's just the Irish, they're not colonials", I would suggest they don't really care at that point.
As regards Joining a "gang", yes, the big guys in the gang will always have more of a say, be it NATO or the EU (in it's various forms) or whatever. I suggest being a member of the alliance is better than not. If you are in the club, at least you have some degree of influence and say in matters as opposed to shouting from the outside. And yes, membership comes with dues, be it monetary or some degree of rules. However, as a small country (like other small countries in Europe), I see more good being on board than not. Shared intel, customs & policing are of much more use to Ireland than buying into the Eurofighter. A conventional attack is relatively unlikely despite the slight warming of tensions between the West and Russia (my opinion), the asymmetric threat is more real.
Whatever got us to this point, WWII, War of Independence, fine, noted, now lets move on. Declan Powers article was a good analysis, talking about the issue is fairly spot on, although I'm still opposed to the triple lock, it's silly. It's letting the UN security council dictate our foreign policy, the Dail should decide on Irish military deployments, no one else.
Good debate, wish it was going on in Dail Eireann, it would show the national leadership is at least thinking about security issues.
As regards Joining a "gang", yes, the big guys in the gang will always have more of a say, be it NATO or the EU (in it's various forms) or whatever. I suggest being a member of the alliance is better than not. If you are in the club, at least you have some degree of influence and say in matters as opposed to shouting from the outside. And yes, membership comes with dues, be it monetary or some degree of rules. However, as a small country (like other small countries in Europe), I see more good being on board than not. Shared intel, customs & policing are of much more use to Ireland than buying into the Eurofighter. A conventional attack is relatively unlikely despite the slight warming of tensions between the West and Russia (my opinion), the asymmetric threat is more real.
Whatever got us to this point, WWII, War of Independence, fine, noted, now lets move on. Declan Powers article was a good analysis, talking about the issue is fairly spot on, although I'm still opposed to the triple lock, it's silly. It's letting the UN security council dictate our foreign policy, the Dail should decide on Irish military deployments, no one else.
Good debate, wish it was going on in Dail Eireann, it would show the national leadership is at least thinking about security issues.
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