Interesting articles

Sudden Valley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123915598#Comment_123915598

As we are not in NATO currently the danish would not share their blood to defend us, and we the same for them. So neither party is being hypocritical. The Danish have all to gain by being a member of NATO while for us the membership benefits would be limited.

Grassy Knoll

You are correct as to the automatic mutual support element that arises under NATO, however let me put it this way, is it hypocritical that we continue to implicitly expect the UK, France or other countries we have good relations with (who also happen to be in NATO) to jump militarily to our aid were we hypothetically threatened, while were the shoe on the other foot, let us be honest the best we would offer is platitudes and moral support? Admittedly any military support we could offer would be limited, but even any token military support by way of solidarity to friends would not be made. IMHO it is hypocritical.

Also is it hypocritical that we have indirectly benefitted from the relative peace and stability afforded Europe through NATO without any meaningful input or risk to us. IMHO it is. It could be argued we got away with it before for a number of reasons. However it is clear there is a reevaluation of security and the threat profile facing our proximate neighbourhood. Our neighbours are making significant choices in terms of what they must trade off against increasing their defence spending to counter threats that are diametrically opposite to our economic and perceived moral interests. Meanwhile we are cutting the VAT so people can eat out .. The world is fully of hypocrisy, but IMHO the days we can continue to indulge in this cost or consequence free, in this particular policy realm at least, are coming to an end.