Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, is on a mission to finish off Irish neutrality as his legacy to Irish politics.
As both Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, he gets to make big decisions on where the Irish army is sent.
His latest escapade is to deploy ten Irish soldiers to take part in the EU ‘Strategic Compass’ exercise in Spain.
‘Strategic Compass’ needs a little translation.
It means a stronger EU military machine that ‘is complementary to NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defence for its members’.
In other words, Martin wants to send Irish soldiers to play war games as part of NATO’s new cold war.
Martin is only hampered in his ambition by Ireland’s triple lock. This limits the number of soldiers he can send to just twelve. Hence the low number he is sending.
We need to face down Martin and defend Irish neutrality.