Joining NATO

[hi-rev]

To be precise; Switzerland is not considering joining NATO, the government is encouraging a tighter cooperation with NATO.
Switzerland would not be able to join NATO due to its direct democracy, where any such notion would not be decided by the government, but by a referendum. And Switzerland has far too many doo goody socials who feel that if they dont have weapons, they wont be attacked. (While at the same time arming despots, laundering their money and letting their yoof drive around in Lamborghinis...) Though the younger population is decidedly pro EU and slightly pro NATO.

But yes, Ireland should join NATO. To think that Ireland would not be attacked in any future war is just downright silly.
Currently, Ireland has a strong soft power but there is nothing to say it will last.
We have lately seen the lines between NATO and EU being drawn up quite well, and seen how they can work in tandem (EU does the sanctions and the politics; NATO the weapons) and it would be smart to be part of both.

Also; there is the simple case of solidarity. If we believe in a cause (such as the freedom of ourselves and our fellow men) we should be ready to defend it with our own blood sweat and tears as well as they are.

[Smokey Bear]

I never realised what a super power Switzerland are. The amount of green g wagons here is absolutely off the scale. They are so prepared for war yet all I ever knew the place for was mountains and cow bells. The country is like one big bomb shelter hiding under a picturesque countryside. They would add a lot of fire power to nato.

[the drifter]

:D:D:D:D it ill sign up for a war games held out of shannon airport.

[mikerd4]

The swiss have more guns per head of Capita than the Americans. They have national service after which you keep your rifle. Every major building has a bomb shelter in it, every bridge/tunnel has explosives in them ready to be blown up. They also have 2 mile straights every few miles on the motorway network with hardened shelters for planes to use as airstrips if/when the airbases are bombed out. And to top it off as a landlocked nation they have a bigger navy than Ireland....

[deltona]

The country is like one big bomb shelter hiding under a picturesque countryside.

I like that. Very apt. 😄

[Ming]

They have a lot of stuff all right (some of it is old):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...the_Swiss_Army

Your average smallish Swiss town is more tooled up for the ZA than the whole island of Ireland (well the sane bit).

[DaveD_XB]

The swiss have more guns per head of Capita than the Americans. They have national service after which you keep your rifle. Every major building has a bomb shelter in it, every bridge/tunnel has explosives in them ready to be blown up. They also have 2 mile straights every few miles on the motorway network with hardened shelters for planes to use as airstrips if/when the airbases are bombed out. And to top it off as a landlocked nation they have a bigger navy than Ireland....

I assume they all have one of those little knives too.

[markcro]

Resurrecting this. Even Switzerland is considering joining NATO. Only our remoteness from any currently projectable trouble from baddies protects us. We should do it. Irish neutrality was always a fig leaf for not having to spend money on defence and not being with the Brits. Both of those notions are anachronisms.

Our neutrality has always reminded of the rich brats being able to "live the van life". We brandish is about like a badge, as we know that no one really gives a sh1t about invading. And anyway, if the :D:D:D:D hits the fan we can pull out the agreement with the UK to save our hides.


- No I don't believe in regimented society or jobs. You know, living the van life gives me freedom and independence!
......
- Hello Daddy, the van broke down, can you pay to get it fixed? And pay for my hotel?.....

[markcro]

I assume they all have one of those little knives too.

Do you know that they have two different little knives?!

I have a version of both.

The Authentic Swiss Army Knife
The Original Swiss Army Knife

Or something like that.

[Ming]

if the hits the fan we can pull out the agreement with the UK to save our hides.

There is no such agreement. We are Georgia. Or Ukraine (with less guns) or Moldova (probably with less guns).

[Flet]

Seville will need to join NATO before midnight

[hi-rev]

Do you know that they have two different little knives?!

I have a version of both.

The Authentic Swiss Army Knife
The Original Swiss Army Knife

Or something like that.

being pedantic; there is only this: https://www.google.com/search?q=soldatenmesser+08

[hi-rev]

Speaking of Ireland's soft power and van life (actually, a good analogy, markcro) A simple common dispute such as fish might be enough to start a crisis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_Wars
Iceland won that "war" in part because of NATO (because UK was in NATO as well, no country could reasonably start a war against each other)

The thing about soft power is it only works until someone says he does not care.

[markcro]

There is no such agreement. We are Georgia. Or Ukraine (with less guns) or Moldova (probably with less guns).

We had one in WW2, aul Dev snook over to London to sign it in case the Nazis invaded. But that was obviously specific to the war, sorry, "The Emergency".
While we no longer have such a protection agreement in place, we do have signed agreements to allow the RAF to fly into Irish airspace to protect it. We know that the Brits for their own protection would never allow a baddie force to invade Ireland. Not for us, but for their own security. So we are sitting on our laurels on this point. So it is pretty safe to say that if Russia/ China/ North Korea invaded, they would be on it before we even realised it. "It will be grand!"
But if a friend invaded, then it would be, You're on your own sunshine!

But again, we know full well that no one would even consider invading so it is a mute point. So we probably are better off financially not joining NATO as we don't need to. "It will be grand!"

But on a moral level, there are times that we should (and in the past), have picked a side.

[markcro]

being pedantic; there is only this: https://www.google.com/search?q=soldatenmesser+08

Just read that Wenger is gone. Victorinox bought them in 2013. So there is now just one little Swiss knife!


Pity, as I found that Wenger one had a better and higher quality design approach. Which is saying somwthing as Victorinox is high quality.