. . . the Minister of State for Defence, (more like minister of war) said:
I welcomed the opportunity to meet with General Grynkewich in Dublin today.Ireland’s engagement with NATO through Partnership for Peace has provided our Defences Forces with valuable opportunities since 1999 for useful and pragmatic collaboration, in our contribution to peacekeeping globally, and in adherence with our policy of military neutrality.
Thomas Byrne calls all of this ‘pragmatic collaboration’ and ‘adherence with our policy of neutrality’. It’s amazing how ‘intellectual gymnastics’ are used by the ruling class to justify anything . . . anything at all . . . and continue the ‘ruling by fooling’.
So, NATO and PESCO are being sold to us as a ‘Partnership for Peace’!! Just incredible. Escalating military spending, wars, genocides and their consequences for civilians, around the world, is called a ‘Partnership for Peace’!! It is hard to believe that Thomas Byrne, who also met with Europe’s war mongers, masquerading as ministers of defence, at the Gleann na Draoithe resort or any normal person, would believe that nonsense.They don’t even believe their own yarns. And we, the decent people of Ireland, don’t believe a word of it either.
Helen McEntee, ostensibly, the minister of foreign affairs, more like the minister of ‘foreign wars’, now says, that military spending is up to 43%, from a tiny figure of 2 to 5% before this. The latter figure more in keeping with what is supposed to be a neutral state. But those figures notwithstanding, Helen wants to increase the spending on military hardware and preparations for war, to an even higher percentage; to be nearer nearer 60%.
This compares with a measly 9% spending on housing by the Irish government and only 11% on public health care. Infrastructure spending is a tiny 5%. And, depending on how it’s measured, there is only a 2.8% to 5.8% spend on education. Even government spending on ‘social protection’, known as benefits, is only 22% . . . approximately half of the present military budget. For those who are old and pension age, the government can manage only a 27% budget. For Helen McEntee and her ilk, spending on the provision of war and death, comes far ahead of spending on the provisions of life.
Here i Dún na nGall the two sitting TD’s Pat (The Cope) Gallagher and Charlie McConnelogue are totally silent on all of this spending of millions upon millions, on war preparations, weapons of death And the on-going destruction of our neutrality and sovereignty. Why? Do they not realise that hundreds upon hundreds of families i Dún na nGall need to put food on their table and warm their homes. There is a bypass needed i LeitirCeanainn. Could this money be more usefully spent on that? Could this money, that is being spent on weapons of death and wars, be spent on our destroyed fishing fleet, thanks to the EU, with the connivance of Fianna Fail et al? This money, destined for wars, should be spent on the collapsing homes, due to defective blocks, all over Dún na nGall further afield i Éireann? I call on them to answer these questions and state their position clearly on this imperialist military spending, in what is supposed to be a neutral and sovereign country.
We are not fooled by the safe sounding Words of “defence”, “security” and “peace” that are used all the time, to hide the fact that it is wars, deaths and genocides that they are talking about here . . . nothing else. What does their talk about “defence” ,“security” and “peace” really mean? Who will profit from the manufacturing and selling of these weapons of death?
It means the spending of billions, even trillions, on weapons of death; to kill maim an injure civilians in their hundreds of thousands, around the world. It means the recruiting of our sons, daughters and grandchildren to fight and die in foreign wars; at the behest of imperialism and capitalism, no more and no less. And it means, the diversion of funding away from social issues such as housing health and even our infrastructure here; in other words the material necessities of life, necessary for people to live in comfort and happiness. Does living not count for more than dying? We need to Always remember, that, the minority who are the ruling class, care little for the majority, the poor and working poor; and they will continue to exploit them in any way they can If we continue to allow it.
It is long past the time that the people of Ireland put a stop to the moves by the ruling class, to make our country a target for war. Sionainn 'warport' should be immediately closed down. Like Countess
Markievicz did all those years ago, we must organise against the conscription of our children into the NATO/European army through the 'slight of hand' tricks of "security", "defence" and "peace". It is none of the above.
 |
| Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig is an independent councillor on Donegal County Council. |
No comments