Weapons of peace

Rather than people passing by Faslane with "unseeing dead-fish eyes" (Brian Quail, Letters, 17 July), I would venture that most Scottish people are only too aware of what lies behind the fences and are proud of their contribution to the peace of this world.

For centuries Europe has been torn apart by a seemingly unending series of wars. The discovery of the atomic bomb has given us decades of previously unheard-of peace. Britain's nuclear capability and that of our Nato allies prevented even the chance of us being overrun by Stalin and the Soviets in the post-Second World War period.

Of course, the destructive capability of these weapons is hideous and the world would be a better place without them and a multi-lateral disarmament process is now in full swing.

Until that decades-long process is complete, we can thank our military and the Scots who maintain this deterrent at Faslane for the many decades of peace and stability they have brought.

ALEXANDER McKAY

New Cut Rigg, Edinburgh