Harry Palmr wrote: » da British are protecting Irish airspace in the same way da Brits are informing Irish weather forecasts - as part of a network of competent providers using technology beyond what met.ie can afford to buy (or even use in the case of Jet fighters).
Stars and Stripes wrote: » Does the fact that we're neutral not protect it ? If you don't pose a threat to someone else they tend to leave you alone, hence why this state hasn't been at war with anyone since it was founded.
Falthyron wrote: » You think we are neutral? Cute.
Stars and Stripes wrote: » Ireland is a member of EUMETSAT along with 30 other European states, passing information between neighbors on the weather is one thing, inviting yourself in to someone else's air space is another. So it's not the Brits finding out the weather for everyone else or something, although we do know they like to think of themselves as the center of the world
Stars and Stripes wrote: » Well let me know when we became members of NATO and joined in the war in WW2 then so
The_Valeyard wrote: » What's the problem 1. Have the Russians land at shannon 2. Charge for fuel 3. Profit.
pawrick wrote: » Being neutral didn't help Belgium in WW1 or many other countries when they were in the way or had useful resources in times of war.
DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: » We're of strategic importance to Britain. They'll always have to watch our back to watch their own. Take WW2 for instance, if there was even a hint that the Nazis were going to invade Ireland for use as a springboard to attack Britain, they (Britain) would have invaded us and taken over the country in less than 48 hours.
Stars and Stripes wrote: » And the British and French were going to beat the Nazi's in no time and the war would be over by Xmas Funny enough Adolf invaded a few smaller countries such as Greece, Yugoslavia etc and it took a lot more than 48 hours. Sure that war criminal Churchill could have resurrected the Black and Tans to put some manners on Paddy .......
Stars and Stripes wrote: » So your telling me the RoI is a member of NATO and was not neutral in WW2 .....
darkpagandeath wrote: » The first RAF bomber pilot to be shot down and killed in 1939 was Willie Murphy from Cork :pac:
riffmongous wrote: » And who protects our airspace from the Brits? :pac:
Stars and Stripes wrote: » So what, that's his tough luck, the Irish govt didn't ask him to join the RAF or something
Harry Palmr wrote: » and I did say part of a network (RTFM)
Stars and Stripes wrote: Seen an article today in the Indo. Now being the Indo you have to take any security or crime reports with a pinch of salt as it's quotes as usual from anonymous 'sources'. But if true it occurred to me - who ever asked the Brits to mind our air space ? Is it up to them if say, a French or Swedish or American or Russian fighter plane were in our air space ? Or is it just the Indo been the Indo
Topgear on Dave wrote: » We do like to call ourselves neutral and take the high moral ground in all these debates. Its only possible because we are on an island in the middle of the atlantic, not in a position like Poland jammed between Germany + USSR during WW2. Anyone trying to get to us needed to go through Britain first. In ww2 we stayed happily neutral as Germany shipped the jews off to the gas chambers and rolled its tanks into Belgium, Holland, France etc etc
Stars and Stripes wrote: » And rightly so. The whole "saving the Jews from gas chambers" bit only became the crusade as Germany collapsed in the last few months of the war as the concentration camps were shown...
AnGaelach wrote: » Yeah, Belgium totally didn't get invaded in World War One since they were neutral. Neutrality totally protected Iran and Iceland from the British in the Second World War. The reason this State hasn't been at war with anyone since it was founded is because we didn't want to follow England into the Second World War like a lackey, and because we didn't want to join NATO until we got the North back. We did offer a bilateral alliance to the US instead of joining NATO.The only countries who successfully maintain independence are the ones who maintain their own arsenal to protect themselves - that's what the Swiss do, that's what the Swedes have done. Neutrality in and of itself isn't a shield or anything of the sort.
Stars and Stripes wrote: » Does the fact that we're neutral not protect it ?