Mike Small (Fife, Bella Caledonia): I recently engaged Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor of the Times about why they still referred to the "Scottish Executive" when no such body existed. Nobody, not the Tories, not even the British Government, refer to the SNP administration as anything other than "the Scottish Government." In a give-away line that anarchists would love he explained: "The reason why the term Government might not be appropriate is that the devolved body does not possess all the powers of a government e.g. declaring war (I'm not being entirely flippant - that is a government's defining responsibility)."
Alex Salmond claimed last week that Britain's involvement in the war in Iraq was "the most disastrous foreign policy decision of recent times." He should put his convictions to the test. Scotland, with 8% of the UK population but 11% of the UK war dead in Iraq is following an ancient tradition of disproportionate representation in the British Armed Forces. It's time for us to pull our troops out.
On the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion, Mr Salmond told BBC Scotland: "I don't believe, incidentally, the views of the Scots squaddies are any different from the Scots population. They do their job because they are professionals and they do it bravely and completely." He then said: "They get kicked in the teeth when they are in Iraq by their regiments being wound up. They get treated disgracefully by the government - across a range of ways - which has broken the military covenant."
None of which is really debatable. What was telling though was the response. Salmond's getting "too big for his boots" they argued.
Far from it. Salmond should take the next step and explore how to bring our troops home. One of the lasting legacies of this (Scottish) government may be that the big con of Scottish soldiers involvement in British State activities may be about to be broken. Whilst many have thought that the Scottish Governments refusal to be part of plans for Trident 2 might be the apogee of symbolic opposition, another more powerful tactic might pack more punch. Scottish troops have been cannon fodder for British Imperial folly for centuries. Enough is enough. It's time for the military to be devolved as part of the withdrawal of consent for the British State's nightmarish escapades in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If Britain won't withdraw its troops, Scotland should withdraw our own - offering legal protection and showing true moral leadership. The past week or so has been packed with ageing once-Leftists eulogising about how 1968 empowered a generation by 'stopping a war' and having a real impact on society. The danger with this current generation is that it has the opposite impact - those who took part in "the biggest demonstration ever" have noted how the Blair-Brown govt treated their views with absolute contempt. As Seamus Milne wrote last week Blair told Parliament on the eve of this horror that Hussein would be "responsible for many more deaths even in one year than we will be in any conflict." Amnesty put civilian deaths under Hussein in the low hundreds. The Lancet estimates 600,000 people were killed in the first three years alone.
Salmond should back up his denunciation of the illegal wars and call on Scottish troops to leave the leave the army. Macleod's argument is that governments wage wars. Can they wage peace too?
This is a edited version of Mike Small's article. You can read the full version on Bella Caledonia here.
