Independence isn't easy
Tue, 2014-09-30 18:13
News Staff
By Tom Haughey
As I’m writing this I’m watching the ballot counting in Scotland via Sky News. The most recent poll predicts a “no” victory which, if true, would mean that Scotland remains in the United Kingdom. Preliminary counting of voters indicates that well over 80% of qualified voters throughout Scotland have cast ballots. That would make this the largest turnout since Winston Churchill defeated Clement Attlee in 1951. There has obviously been no shortage of interest in this referendum. “The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!” is a line from a comedy in which a Russian submarine lands in New England and is mistaken for an invading force. In the run up to the independence election for Scotland a recording was leaked which shows two Russian Ambassadors discussing a hypothetical invasion of Scotland. That is no joke since Russian submarines are regularly seen off the Scottish coast. A government television program aired an interview with a Russian gentleman who claimed to have joined a local separatist militia similar to those set up in Ukraine. No wonder the “Yes” campaign accuses the government of fear mongering in order to keep Scotland in the UK. And yet leaving the UK would also mean leaving NATO and its mutual defense treaty for at least some period of time. With the Green Party in the mix in Scotland it might well mean trying to join NATO as a country opposed to using nuclear weapons (which might well pose an obstacle to joining). Without NATO protection, Russia could possibly invade if its leadership descended into insanity.
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