Readers' Letters: Increased defence spending won't keep UK safe from aggressors

It was disappointing to see The Scotsman repeating the government line that defence spending needed to be increased and overseas aid cut (Editorial, 1 March).

We have been told for decades that the UK needs an independent nuclear deterrent as that is the only way to deter an aggressor. Now, however, we are told that further spending on armaments is necessary.

There is no evidence increasing spending on “defence” – in other words, procuring more ways of killing people – will keep us safe. On the contrary, it is likely to fuel an arms race. We know from history that such races have no winners, but lead to death and destruction on unimaginable scales.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is cutting foreign aid in order to up the defence budget (Picture: Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Whether we like it or not, there are such things as “spheres of influence” in global politics. The USA was quick to react when it felt threatened by Cuba and other regimes in the Americas which it perceived as hostile. It was predictable that Russia would react in the same way to the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato.

Brian Wilson pointed out in your pages a fortnight ago that “we should be looking for a relationship with Russia that is not predicated on the inevitability of hostility and unaffordable militarisation”. The present governments of the USA and of Russia are probably anathema to most people in the UK. Despite that, we need to find a new way of living and working with both of them; a way based on understanding and co-operation rather than name-calling and conflict. Stephen Gethins shows in your columns this weekend how development aid and peace-building is a good way forward (1 March).

Nigel Lindsay, Bo’ness, West Lothian

Cold art of the deal

Daniel in the lion's den came to mind when I watched Volodymyr Zelensky being attacked by Donald Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office. I believe that there are questions being raised asking whether this was a put-up job.

Was the reporter who asked why Zelensky wasn't wearing a suit prompted to do so? It seems a little odd that that should have been the signal for VP Vance to launch a blistering attack on Zelensky for never having said “thank you” for all the help the Ukraine had been given by the United States. He has said that many, many times in public, as Vance will be well aware.

However, Trump is known for the art of the deal. He is aware that there is a lot riding on the Ukraine reaching a deal with the USA. The Ukraine and all of Europe are desperate for this ghastly war to end, so a little pressure helps.

I would jalouse that Trump is deliberately introducing panic in the ranks of both the EU and the Ukraine by targeting Zelensky and throwing him out of the White House in front of the world. He hasn't ruled out further negotiations, however. Why is that? It's because he wants an even better deal, so he jacks up the odds and talks up a Third World War.

Trump will get his deal. He may even dethrone Zelensky, but if I were a betting man, I would suggest that that may have been the plan all along.

John Fraser, Glasgow

Dark legacy

I’ve been observing Donald Trump since 2012 when toy golf clubs were thrown out of his pram here in Scotland, where he claims some heritage.

I’ve asked myself since, what lessons would that, and all subsequent Trump actions, have given to observers, including our young people. They’ve been shown how to lie, cheat, treat women as dross, ignore democracy, totally disregard the law, say anything you like and deny ever doing so… the list is extensive and very damning. That this should now include meeting a friend in one’s own home, a friend in trouble at the end of his tether, in desperate need of help, then treat him as a fool at fault for a predicament forced upon him by others. Well, in my experience that’s not the Scottish way.

I observe the ethos my former school in Edinburgh, George Heriot's, instils in its pupils – encouraging hard work by embracing challenge and being curious, be respectful, communicate well, empathise with others and be inclusive… but getting that across is some challenge when one can clearly see the opposite represented by the world’s most powerful man, live on our TV screens.

Trump’s actions may not destroy the country that's part of his heritage, but will forever influence our young people – that’s the true legacy in his actions, and they will tarnish his reputation for decades to come. Not just for people in Scotland, but across the globe.

Gordon Y Watson, Edinburgh

Ferry failings

Another excellent article by Dale Miller on the neverending CalMac ferry saga (28 February).

Interestingly, the ferry currently running the Barra service is limited to around 48 passengers because of the failed Marine Evacuation System. And for the last week or ten days the weather conditions have been outwith the operating window of the ferry.

We can only hope that as we now move into meteorological spring, the avid SNP voters and MPs who have right royally supported such political incompetence and interference don’t have camper-vans or other motor vehicles they wish use to travel with to Barra.

The tourist trade to visit the most wonderful Western Islands of Barra and Vatersay will have to be postponed until the ferry service improves because not only will they not manage to board the ferry, there’ll be no milk in the Co-op when they get there!

We can only thank the good Lord that the resourceful Barra residents have a distillery in the planning, which will no doubt have 12-year-old malts ready for consumption before the ferry actually makes it there or the saga is resolved.

Neil B Nisbet, Callander, Perthshire

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