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TRIDENT IS THE REAL HYPOCRISY WHEN IT COMES TO SECURITY

I am getting sick of hearing (especially from tired old Laybore Trident supporting hacks) that the SNP position on NATO (embodied by Nicola) is “hypocritical” and represents some kind of “jumping on the bandwagon” which argument does at least acknowledge that the Scottish people are on a roll to shut down Faslane in its present deadly and deranged form.
Scotland has not only been the base from which all of the UK’s nuclear weapons target other countries, but has been opposed to their presence with that opposition stated by trade unions, churches, government and parliament for years now in complete democratic deficit. The people have protested, demonstrated and participated in civil resistance of the most imaginative and constant sort. The case has been argued in public meetings, courtrooms the mainstream and social media. Scotland is ready for nuclear disarmament, and the Labour Party based in London is misguided in ignoring that situation.
Firstly, the NATO policy has never been discussed by the SNP party since the huge influx of new members. It was only adopted by a narrow majority in a party conference ballot a year before the referendum. No motion has been put through Holyrood in support of that policy (unlike the equally ‘reserved’ position of opposition to Trident replacement) which does not surprise. Many antinuclear campaigners inside and outside the party find it deeply abhorrent. The Austrian pledge for a global ban on all nuclear weapons continues to gain traction since this years international summit on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and the ban would preclude the existence of nuclear armed alliances such as NATO.

So for me, an independent Scbairnsotland in membership of NATO is a policy on a shoogly nail within the party.
Like many SNP members, Nicola was a member of CND before she joined SNP so no bandwagon jumping going on here. Personally and as a member of the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Trident Ploughshares, I would prefer a completely demilitarised Scotland that focussed on human security and developing a foreign policy that was focussed on participating in the small circles and long dialogues that contribute to global understanding and peace, but I will vote for a candidate/party that is on the sharp end of that spectrum. Trident is the sharp end. Nuclear weapons are the ultimate in indiscriminate state violence in the hands of the few and out of the control of the many. By ensuring that we can get rid of Trident I harbour hopes of creating a space in which demilitarisation and non violent intervention could be options.
Does that make me a hypocrite? There seems no logic whatsoever in suggesting that voting for a party that does support Trident and all the hideous and insane posturing brinksmanship (whoever heard of brinkswomanship?) would be a less hypocritical option. So I’ll not be doing that. And I will be one of the many closing down Faslane on the 13th, that’s Monday coming folks, check out your options. http://scraptrident.org/