Nato U-turn should have been expected

Ian Bell is clearly disgusted by the SNP's move to back-track on its long-held policy that an independent Scotland would pull out of Nato (Nato-powered independence?

No thanks, Comment, August 12). I disagree with him about Nato's policy on nuclear weapons and can understand why he feels let down by this U-turn, but he should have seen it coming.

The SNP now wants to keep the Queen as head of state, and presumably of our armed forces. It wants to keep the pound sterling, which means that much of Scotland's economic framework would be determined by the Bank of England. And Alex Salmond and defence spokesman Angus Robertson now want to keep Scotland in Nato, which would mean accepting the decisions of that organisation. Clearly, that might include keeping the nuclear submarine base at Faslane. The Nationalist vision of independence has been transformed into something remarkably like devo max, and the sooner they own up to that, the sooner we can get on with a sensible debate.

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