President Connolly

01:21 "Going to leave it there."

Only the 4 posts since then. I'd hate to see this if you were not going to leave it there.

I agree with the people who have commented above about the irony that certain posters were giving out about Michael D speaking out and are now giving out about Catherine Connolly not speaking out.

Just because they aren't matching others doesn't mean they are immune from criticism. Trump being blatant about what the US always did if it suited should open a few eyes. Maybe. Connolly's we know, have been open for a long time.

That’s just hogwash,why should there be a higher archy of the criticiseable based simply on leftist likings or sensitivities?

It’s pure hypocrisy

And both of them have no influence what so ever on event in other Nations…

And you criticise her even if she does call out one of your bad bots.

She can’t win

She has called out Assad and tge Iranian government.
There is probably a good reason why she hasn’t made any remarks yet.

Excuse? Godwin?
What are you on about?

There are reasons why she hasn’t.

You think it’s because she supports the Iranian government despite her calling them out before.
We have already seen it pointed out she can’t win if she does or doesn’t.

This may offer a potential explanation for Connolly's silence. Anti-Americanism is so rooted in left-wing ideology in Ireland that even when America is right - Venezuela and Iran - the far left can't help themselves and they root for the repressive regimes who oppress their own citizens.

The clear implication of what you are saying is that because Trump is for it, it must be wrong, and that Catherine Connolly is following that position. That speaks to a blind prejudice based on personality on her part rather than an objective look at reality.

It would be better if you would give a policy-based reason for her silence.

Trump is a horrible dangerous menace, a misogynist and racist, does that make me anti-Trump?

I don't see the world only through personalities or political parties, policies are important to me. Trump is wrong on Greenland, correct on Iran and Venezuela. For too long, the West has stood by while totalitarian states have repressed their own citizens. On this one issue, Trump is standing up in a way that should have been done before. It may well be his motives are for oil and wealth, but the end of overthrowing horrible regimes in Iran and Venezuela is correct. Hopefully, he will target other regimes that have impoverished their own people as well.

Iran of course, not only represses its own civilians but is singularly responsible for supporting terrorist organisations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as movements in Iraq and Syria. Anything that reins them in is good. We wouldn't have had October 7th without the logistical support of Iran to Hamas.

Of course, our President will be different to her time as TD, but I am not sure that I would call it excellent. As President, she needs to put aside her anti-Americanism that another poster has referenced, and speak to the truths. Shedding tears for Cuban mercenaries who bought into a life of violence, while ignoring the plight of innocent young Iranians seeking freedom is not where our President should be.

You are now exaggerating.

She has roundly criticised Iran in the Dáil for attacks on it's own citizen's.

This is a serious issue. I attended a very civilised protest in Galway a few weeks ago. We were asked to ask the Minister, as a member of a Government which has a place on the UN Security Council, to call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately stop the use of lethal force and unlawful suppression, to stop subjecting Iranian citizens to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and to stop unlawful and arbitrary arrests and detentions. The figures are rising. Deputy Howlin already mentioned some of them. Some 410 protestors have been killed, with a caveat that those figures are higher. Some 58 children have been killed in the unrest and more than 17,251 people have been arrested. According to media reports, in November, six of those detained in the protests have been issued death sentences. This number is expected to rise. Iran executes more people annually than any other country apart from China, although I understand that in the last week, Saudi Arabia executed 17 people.

Her concern is human rights and if America is to be criticised she does that without fear or favour.

Did those comments come at the time when the US was making deals with Iran? Reducing sanctions?

If so, they only support the case that our President sees everything through an anti-American lens, given that she is now silent on Iran.

I don't know what you are talking about being in a conversation or not, I am here to discuss policies, and not get involved in whatever type of personal stuff you appear to thrive on. Whether a particular poster responds or not, drops out of discussion or not, does not make their contribution any less or any more worthwhile. Either their point stands, or it doesn't. Repeating a point as nauseum does not make it any more worthwhile either. Not responding to a post may mean it is not worthy of a response. Any of those reasons are plausible for why someone is doing something other than "bowing out", as you describe it. From the tone of your post, it appears you see some kind of vindication or victory for your position in someone "bowing out". The opposite could also be true, that posters find a particular argument tedious or nonsensical and don't bother responding to that tedium or nonsense. I am not going to draw any conclusion as to why you didn't get a response, and I am not going to draw any conclusions when I don't get a response, there is a menu of reasons. I consider your response to me to be below standards and bordering on the personal, but I am new around here, so will ignore it this time.

Getting back on topic, US/Iran relations took a turn for the worse when Trump came to power. Remember he accused Iran of hacking his 2024 election campaign. Those remarks in 2022 therefore came at a time when relations between the US and Iran were much better than they are now. I don't recall the US bombing Iran in 2022, do you?

So Connolly asking questions in 2022 in the Dail and staying silent now only increases the merit of the argument that she sees the world through an anti-American lens.