Richard Boyd Barrett: Taoiseach Silent on Trump's War

Minister, yesterday Joseph Kent, who is the Director of National Counter-Terrorism in the United States, a very senior official in the American administration, resigned over Donald Trump's war against Iran. And he said that in his letter of resignation, Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and he described the attempt to justify that war as being lies, and that the war he described as one that was manufactured by Israel. Now that war, since Trump and the Israeli regime commenced it, has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 innocent Iranian people, including 160 schoolgirls, wiped out in one attack. In Lebanon, 900 people have been murdered by the Israelis. Beirut, as we speak, is being bombed to bits in one of the worst rains of death and destruction inflicted by Israel on the people of Lebanon for a very long time. And almost 800,000 people have been displaced. And indeed, there are real fears. Now we are going to see a repeat of the genocidal horrors that we've seen in Gaza for the last two years happening in southern Lebanon. And as if all that death and destruction and horror being visited on people in Iran and Lebanon and the genocide in Gaza isn't enough, every single working person in this country and across the world are now paying a direct economic price in their pocket. With home heating oil gone up, the cost of petrol and fuel gone up, all as a result of Trump's and Israel's war. A regime, a repeat, that is in the dock for genocide and in the international criminal court. And yet, the Taoiseach of this country sits beside Donald Trump yesterday, hands him a bowl of shamrock, celebrates our national day with this warmonger when he is a Taoiseach who repeatedly claims that this country is committed to international law. This is not a single word of criticism of the flagrant, murderous breaches of international law that Trump and Israel are engaged in. I mean, at one point, I thought he was going to say it when he said, we can't have rogue regimes possessing nuclear weapons. I thought he was talking about Israel, of course, that does have nuclear weapons and won't even sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. I don't think any country in the world has ever used them and launched this illegal war. But no, he was leaning into the justifications, our Taoiseach, that Trump has used to justify this murderous war. How can you possibly stand over his failure to condemn the flagrant breaches of international law, the illegal war in the White House yesterday and continue to extend facilities to the US military at Shannon Airport in breach of our neutrality? Thanks very much for your question, Deputy. I have to say, I'm surprised that you started with an invocation of Joseph Kent, who is one of the leaders of the MAGA movement in the United States of America. Well, I'm just curious that you should happen to rely upon him and quote what he says. I again repeat what I said to Deputy Batchick, which is that what the Taoiseach did yesterday in the White House was extremely important from Ireland and Europe's point of view. We are, as you will know, Deputy, at a particularly important time in geopolitical relationships between the United States and Europe. Being frank, there is a very significant break that has taken place between that relationship that's existed for over 100 years. I suppose the focus of where the break is, is in NATO. As I said earlier, there was a real benefit that the Taoiseach was out there as the leader of a European country that isn't a member of NATO. But he was able to emphasize the importance upon which Ireland bases upon the rules-based system and the international order. That's in our constitution. We have consistently done that. We have consistently had a record of being a country that believes in the peaceful resolution of disputes, not the resolution of disputes through military force. The Taoiseach has to deal with the circumstances in which he is faced. Obviously, if you were Taoiseach, Deputy Boyd Barrett, you wouldn't have gone to the United States. That is very clear. You wouldn't have gone. I know Deputy Batchick wouldn't have gone. In fairness, Deputy MacDonald would have gone and Deputy Kearns would have gone. I look you well when you're in government together deciding whether you're going to go to the United States next year when you're in government or whenever you're in government. You wouldn't have gone. There's a real benefit in the Taoiseach going there and being able to speak out, frankly, more so than any other international leaders who've been there recently have done. He was able to speak out in respect of Keir Starmer. He was able to speak out in respect of immigration. He was able to speak out in respect of Ireland's view is that we should resolve disputes through pacific methods. We can't emphasize that enough. The reality is, however, Deputy, like in politics, as I'm sure you're aware, self-awareness is an important characteristic. It applies to all of us individually. It also applies to us as a country. Ireland is a small, non-military country. What we say is effective in terms of the diplomacy we have and in terms of standing up to people who are our friends and saying to them that we think you have gone down the wrong road in respect of what you're doing. Ireland has a strong voice. The Taoiseach emphasizes that. You just see what's stated in front of the cameras yesterday. There was ongoing engagement between ambassadors and diplomats out in the United States as well. Nobody wants to see these disputes resolved through force. I agree with Deputy Carty when he said no one ever achieved anything from bombing a country. He was right in respect of it, notwithstanding the irony of it. He was correct in terms of what he said. Similarly, we need to emphasize to the United States that there is no long-term solution in terms of bombing Iran because that's not going to achieve the political objectives that it serves. I would have gone to the United States and I would have stood with people like Mandani who reminded us of our own history of opposition to colonialism and war. But I certainly wouldn't stand beside a warmonger like Trump who is ripping up the international legal rulebook to pursue a bloody and murderous war against Iran and is cooperating with Israel who are in the dock for genocide and are bombing the hell out of Lebanon. And our Taoiseach can't even bring himself to actually condemn this, even when it's imposing an economic cost on every single person in this country and across the world. And continues to facilitate the US troops going through Shannon Airport on the 15th of March. One day, four US troop carriers through Shannon in just one day. You're telling me they're not involved in the bloody carnage that Trump and the Israelis are inflicting across the Middle East right now? And just imagine this. Imagine a Taoiseach went over and handed Shamrock to Vladimir Putin and didn't say a word about the murderous invasion of Ukraine and allowed Russian troops into Shannon Airport while the invasion was going on. There would be outrage, justifiably outrage, yet that's what the Taoiseach did with Trump yesterday despite his warmongering. Deputy, you mentioned the Mayor of New York, Mondami. Of course, he did go to the White House. He's not refusing to meet President Trump as a result of what's happened in Iran. So your position isn't consistent in terms of engagement. The Irish government believes there should be engagement with people when it comes to seeking to resolve disputes. Your view is stay away from it. We believe when you look at the history of Ireland and what we've achieved that we're much better off engaging with people, particularly our friends. You also mentioned in terms of what's happening at Shannon Airport. The issue of what's happening out in the Middle East is happening in the Eastern Mediterranean. That's where the aircraft carriers are based from the United States. And all foreign military and state aircraft wishing to overfly or land in the States require diplomatic clearance. So your charge against the Irish government is incorrect. It's at times like this, Deputy, that our neutrality stands to us. It stands to us and the fact that we're not a member of NATO stands to us. And I commend again the Taoiseach for the great performance he put up yesterday.