Another interesting passage from Alex Salmond’s speech was this one:
“The 18th century Union is no longer fit to meet the needs of 21st century Scotland.
“It’s
time our nation had the right to choose to bring Scottish troops home
from Iraq and the right to decide whether the next generation of
British nuclear bombs should be based on Scotland’s shores." (SNP)
The SNP’s opponents used to be fond of making jokes about the Scottish Air Force. One particularly tortuous editorial in the Observer earlier this month suggests they are having trouble adjusting to the possibility that foreign and defence policy is no longer a unionist trump card.
[Scottish independence] would fatally weaken these islands’ ability to act as a force for good in the world. Obviously many might question whether that ability is being used to its best effect just now – the cheer Salmond received when he spoke of ending illegal wars is testament to this – but Scots should embrace their stake in Britain’s global power, not retreat from it. (Observer, Oct 15)
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