Letters to the Editor: We ought to ask why we spend so much on defence

Who and what are we defending ourselves against?

The US and the UK are the only nations that have the capacity to invade us, says our letters writer. And why would they, he asks.

Initially in his article on the Defence Forces (, June 3) Colonel Dorcha Lee claims that defence spending has plummeted since 1980, and halved from 2012 to 2020. It simply has not. It went from $1.3bn to $1bn between 2012 and 2020.

Defence spending is 2.5 times higher than it was in 1980. His claim was made relative to the flawed comparison of GDP.