Willie the Kid shoots himself in the foot
Apparently the Minister for Defence is one of them - but he should not be blamed personally for his ignorance in that sphere.
However, his statement that he did not intend to give offence by grinning down the barrel of an automatic pistol pointed directly at another person, (and, indeed, you and I) reflects dramatically on his instinctive political judgement.
How could he imagine, in the week that is in it, with the media saturated with the tragic misuse of firearms and several so-called ‘gangland’ killings, that messing around with lethal weapons for the cameras might not verge on the insensitive.
What does it say about the minister’s basic understanding of the world in which we live, and of the contemporary seriousness of his portfolio?
For decades, the Department of Defence was treated politically as an ante-room to ministerial retirement or advancement - not as an intrinsically important appointment.
In 2005, this is the person who is politically responsible for the defence of you and I against military or paramilitary attack - and who might (God forbid) have to make decisions with life-or-death consequences, within minutes or less.
He is also politically responsible for evaluating the security of Shannon airport. It may well be that the airport is covertly stuffed with CCTV cameras, snipers, swat squads, automatic doors and the like.
But that is not how it seems to the ordinary passenger.
He or she drives past one guard at an open checkpoint, goes through an extremely open and apparently security-casual terminal into a passenger lounge shared by up to 200 US troops in battledress. Ministers may froth at the mouth as much as they like about the cheek of anybody suggesting that ‘neutral’ Ireland could be a target.
Even if not one single weapon or covert prisoner has actually been flown through Shannon, such an absence of Irish compliance with the war is not the public perception - nor can it be the perception among terrorist groups.
Leaving aside the issue of the morality or legality of the war, and looking at Shannon simply from the practical viewpoint of ‘health and safety’, any reasonable visitor has to conclude the airport is at risk.
Is Willie the Kid the person to handle this practical matter on our behalf?
Maurice O’Connell
19 Forge Park
Oakpark
Tralee
Co Kerry
