Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-03-12
De VuIero's Stand

AL IeJeCJlng the request of the
united States to effect the recall of
Nazl and japanese representatives
now moving about freely in Fire,
Prime Minister De Valera insists
that he must Gin all circumstances
protect the neutrality of the Irish
state and the democratic way of life
of the Irish people," Under inter-
national law, of course, his govern
ment, as a sovereign authority is
wholly within its rights in taking
such a stand, but by the same token,
it would be wholly within its rights.
TOO, IN doing what friendly America
has asked of it.
The choice made by Mr.. De Valera
Will certainly not help us. On the
contrary, it will help our enemies,
even though the good faith of Fire
cannot be questioned. For the truth
is that this is another example of
how a strict neutrality policy, in
spite of itself, can have the effect of
favoring one side against another.
Thus, in this case, because of the
geographical factors involved, it
gives the United Nations no chance
to observe Axis war dispositions, but
1t does give the Axis a chance to OBJ
serve ours. There can be no doubt.
at any rate, that as long as they con-
tinue to enjoy their diplomatic i'm
munities and privileges and are able
to work out of Dublin, the Nazis and
the japanese will have an almost
unrestricted opportunity" as our
American note to Mr.. De Valera
points out, 'for bringing military
information of vital Importance
from Great Britain and Northern
Ireland into Ireland and from there
transmitting it by various routes and
methods to Germany"
At this most critical point in the
war, with great Allied invasion
moves in the making, such situa-
tionT77at, least in its potentialties
constitutes a danger of the gravest
sort, the fact being that it has a
direct bearing not only ON the sue.
cess of our projected operations, but
on the lives of thousands of United
Nations soldiers as we'll Accord
1ngly, our request to Fire is in the
nature of an essential precautionary
move, and our Government would
have been negligent not to have
made it. In the circumstances, taken
together with his earlier refusal to
offer any help whatever in the once
crucial battle of the Atlantic and
taken together also with his remark
able invasion comment when our
troops landed in Northern Ireland
Prime Minister De Valera's present
attitude, however legally defensible
it may be, can scarcely be described
as sympathetic to the United States.
Moreover, his views in this instance,
since they rule out any assistance to
the great British and American de-
mocracies in the struggle against the
leviathan Nazi dictatorship, are diff
ficult to reconcile with his an
nounced desire to protect "the dem
ocratic way of life of the Irish peo-
pie"
AS for fears of German retaliation.
1t seems rather absurd to think that
the LuftWaffe would attack Ireland
at time when it has it's hands over
full elsewhere and when every ounce
of its strength must be conserved
for vastly more pressing work. Neu-
trail Portugal gave us bases in the
Azores and neutral Spain is reported
ready to eject Axis diplomats from
Tangier, but neither appears to be
worried very much about what the
Nazis are likely to do. In contrast,
the policy fixed for Fire by Mr.. De
Valera seems shortsighted and dis
appointing in the extreme, the more
SO because Irishmen have always
been in the forefront of the fight
for liberty and because between
them and Americans there are
unique ties of friendship, affection