Madam, - It is disturbing, but hardly surprising, to learn that a third of those who voted No in the Lisbon Treaty referendum believed the treaty contained provision for conscription. This must be seen as a great achievement for Sinn Féin's canvassers, who worked so hard to get the "facts" across to families with teenage children.
To respond to this revelation by seeking an Irish "opt-out" from the EU Common Security and Defence Policy would bring Irish politics to a new low. It would be the equivalent of defining transport or aviation policy by reference to an impression that there are still people who believe the earth is flat.
For decades the Provisional Republican Movement saw the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána as legitimate targets for its terrorist arm. Happily, it entirely failed to damage the effectiveness and reputation of our society forces both at home and in international operations with both the United Nations and the EU.
Should the "opt-out" be introduced, the Defence Forces would now be seriously damaged and forced to abandon the communities they serve with such distinction in Bosnia, Chad and elsewhere. This would be a significant, but utterly disgraceful, victory for dishonest campaigning and must be resisted by decent people. - Yours, etc,
TONY BROWN, Bettyglen, Dublin 5.
Madam, — It seems to me that John M Rogers (September 12th) has missed the point regarding the possible consequences for Ireland of rejecting the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Rogers says that although marginalisation is a possible outcome, the EU does not have the legal power to "kick out" Ireland. But is marginalisation not an equally disastrous proposition? We now face the very real possibility of a two-tier EU, with the other member-states leaving Ireland behind in the slow lane.
The "No" majority was apparently unaware that this could happen, content in the thought that our neighbours would only be too happy to keep the status quo for Ireland's sake. That this is not the case must have come as quite a shock to the No voters, three-quarters of whom had voted under the false belief that a "better deal" could be negotiated. (This was revealed in a European Commission poll taken in the days after the referendum.)
Even today, alarmingly, hardly anybody seems to know what the contents of the Lisbon Treaty actually are. A fully informed reflection on the practical implications of the treaty, and the possible consequences of non-ratification, should have been our main priority over these past months, and would surely have been of greater benefit than the stubborn refusal to even acknowledge the problem. - Yours, etc,
JOHN F. HEFFERNAN, The Hague, Netherlands.