UUP leader sells British unity through promise of thermonuclear war

The newly not-elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Jon Burrows, has been attempting to sell Northern Irish voters on continued membership of the ‘United Kingdom’ by suggesting it’s a great opportunity to get into a war with Russia and/or China.

Quoting an article in the Irish Times that practically salivates over the prospect of entering a planet-terminating conflagration with behemoths to the east, Burrows suggests Northern Ireland can receive greater protection with Britain than through leaving the union to form a united Ireland.

The more sensible view is that by remaining part of Britain, and therefore its military-industrial apparatus, Northern Ireland simply makes itself more of a target than if it were part of an ostensibly neutral United Ireland. This was certainly the case during World War 2 – the Luftwaffe bombed Belfast significantly more heavily than Dublin, despite the latter being a larger city.

Unelected UUP MLA lauds self-immolating NATO clown car

Burrows was co-opted into his Assembly seat after predecessor Colin Crawford resigned in June last year. Under the single transferable vote (STV) system, parties replace an outgoing MLA with another from their ranks if a seat is vacated. This is to maintain the balance of seats reflected in the original vote. No by-election is held.

The North Antrim UUP politician went on to laud NATO, saying:

The UK is also a founding member of NATO – a defensive alliance where an attack on one member is an attack on all. There is a clear commitment to protect every inch of NATO territory.

This looks rather comical as a proposition given NATO is actively engaged in attacking itself. Unhinged would-be tyrant and perpetual warmonger Donald Trump is seeking to steal Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark. Other NATO members have now sent troops to the Arctic territory.

At the same time, Britain continues to menace Russia, as its senior military officials go giddy at the prospect of sending British youth off to die in Eastern Ukraine. So Burrows argument for continued attachment with Britain appears to be the following: we can get in a war with Russia, then hope that the so-called military alliance we’re part of can cease its civil war long enough to fight back before being vaporised. Sounds like a wonderful idea.

The piece Burrows references in his Facebook post talks in openly colonial terms about Britain’s relationship with Ireland. In it, “former senior NATO commander and naval expert” Rear Admiral Chris Parry raves enthusiastically about the prospect of essentially invading Ireland. The modern-day Dr Strangelove insists:

The UK needs to calibrate the threat to itself of a supine Republic of Ireland. My view is that the best way to help Ireland now is to increase Nato and Allied activity in Ireland’s economic zone waters.

We’ve got to start fishing in Irish waters for our potential opponents. Whether the Irish government likes it or not, it’s the high seas so we should do it.