Did President Michael D Higgins cross a line with his neutrality remarks? You bet he did

‘He didn't so much as go up to the line as launch a blitzkrieg across it,’ said one former senior official. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA There are two issues tied up in the current controversy raging around the President and the Government's plans for the future of Irish neutrality. One is debatable: has the Government stacked the forthcoming discussions about the future of defence and security policy, including neutrality, with the intention of changing that policy in the future? There is likely to be much more hot air about this in the coming days. The other is not really debatable: has…