Get Them Home! Irish Defence Forces Withdraw Necessary Amid Lebanon War

As tensions boil over in the Middle East yet again, and Israel mounts an invasion of Southern Lebanon, the Irish government ought to reconsider its engagement in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the region.

Ireland has 340 soldiers in Southern Lebanon serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which according to the Irish Defence Forces, are in safe positions in bunkers for now.

Despite this initial assertion, Defence Forces soldiers have reported Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) fighting with Hezbollah near their main outpost, Camp Shamrock earlier todat October 2nd.

The presence of the IDF in the region must prompt a reconsideration of Irish participation in UNIFIL. Must Ireland risk the lives of its soldiers on foreign soil for the sake of Leinster House’s toy soldier diplomacy?

Leinster House should have demanded a withdrawal of Irish troops last year after the tragic killing of Private Seán Rooney by Hezbollah-adjacent militants.

The IDF have repeatedly and purposely targeted Irish military positions in the region. In 1987, Cpl Dermot McLaughlin was killed by an Israeli tank in what the Defence Forces have long considered a deliberate and unprovoked attack by Israel. For the safety of our soldiers they must be withdrawn, and for pride and honour of our nation, we should keep out of wars that are not ours. 

As Israel once again up-ends the political stability of the Middle East, we must be conscious of the fact that we don’t want Ireland to be involved in the inevitable fallout, in any form. Migration, militarily or otherwise.

Ireland has enough problems already with the systemic failure to invest in our own domestic security. 

There’s a case to be made for Irish foreign policy supporting either side of the Arab-Israeli conflict – they’re two opposing strategies for foreign policy and would align us with different camps in the world order. 

The problem is we haven’t even committed to using our support for Palestine to leverage diplomatic influence with the Global South on issues of Ireland’s national interests. This is because we haven’t got a proper foreign policy strategy – or any conception of what our national interests in the world actually are, outside of “democracy” and “human rights.”

Given the incompetence and gullibility of the Irish government, a pro-Israeli foreign policy would be an outright disaster for our country, and would force Ireland to abandon its moral convictions, bringing us down to the level of dirty states whose national interests demand permanent chaos and discord. 

The silver lining of Ireland’s foreign policy, and even our presence in the Middle East, is that it remains true to the ethos of practising moral virtue – in that sense Ireland’s foreign policy is not compromised, but is in a sick, naive way a truly honest, well-meaning form of humanitarianism. 

We have in every circumstance acted in a foolishly selfless manner – it’s about time we do something for ourselves and withdrawing Irish troops from Lebanon must be the first step.