EMPTY THREATS OR NOT, WE NEED SELF-DEFENCE

THE Russians aren’t coming, and nor are their weapons of terror. A demented TV star who has sublet some of his master’s madness may roar threats and flash graphics, but the danger of imminent nuclear annihilation was quickly dismissed by analysts and close students of Russian propaganda.

There were some splutters of outrage, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, right, wants an apology. He presumably knows none will be forthcoming, for this unhinged episode is merely the latest baseless shriek from an administration prosecuting a vindictive but chaotic war.

It might have been an empty threat, but it could draw some attention back to those discussions of Irish self-defence that floated around in the early weeks of the war.

Specifically, there is a context provided by the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, and the desperate need for increased investment detailed therein.

That has slipped as a Government priority with uncommon haste.