Madam, – Vincent Browne (Opinion, March 11th) says the European Defence Agency (EDA) “strives to bring coherence to the European armaments industry, to help devise even more efficient and effective means of killing”. He compares the EDA with the IRA murderers of two soldiers and a policeman in Northern Ireland in recent days. Presumably the soldiers should not have been there and are therefore fair game for anybody who decides to shoot them since they were trying to “bring coherence” to the security policy of a legitimate Government and Parliament.
By way of reducing the seriousness of the IRA murders he writes that “there is a lot more nonsense that infects minds and that justifies other and even more pervasive killings”. This is twisted thinking and is as outrageous as I have no doubt it is meant to be.
The mission statement of the EDA states that the Capabilities Directorate works with participating member-states to develop defence capabilities to support European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and will evolve in the future, on the basis of a capability development plan; and to pool efforts and resources in the development of transformed, interoperable and cost-effective armed forces.
An objective of the EDA is to meet EU aims of protection for peacekeeping and peacemaking forces by better inter-operability so that the lives of Irish Defence Force members and others are protected when carrying out dangerous, often life-threatening, tasks – not to make them “even more pervasive” killers. For example, lives can be saved by having communications systems that can be used by defence forces of different EU member-states when working together. Also, by buying in bulk the EDA can cost-effectively purchase the best safety equipment, as was evident on the Late Late Show when Irish Defence Force members demonstrated their military equipment before they left for Chad, on an EU-led mission with an Irish commander. Some of this equipment is sourced in Ireland.
Before an EU-led force can participate in any peacekeeping or peacemaking mission the unanimous agreement of all EU member-states is required, not just the member states participating.
Presumably Mr Browne´s reasoning extends to those who murder people, including their fellow criminals, in Dublin, Limerick and elsewhere every other week. Do they also have as much legitimacy as the EDA? Or are the two IRAs more legitimate than these criminals in Mr Browne’s mind?
The second World War occurred because there was no country, institution or agency in Europe capable of keeping or enforcing the peace against the threat of fascism. The EU has built up an interdependence that makes war in Europe among existing member-states unthinkable. However, this does not apply in other parts of the world where the UN expects entities such as the EU to play their part in keeping and enforcing the peace. This in turn obviates the need for the US to play world policeman.
Defence and security are essential prerequisites for the success of democracy; and defence and security forces are accountable to governments and parliaments. To whom do the latest two IRAs account? I have no doubt that the EU, its member-states and its institutions are imperfect; but to relate the legitimacy of these to that of murdering, self-appointed, anti-democratic and xenophobic “armies” is obscene. – Yours, etc,