Sir, – The photographs of the aftermath of the Nagasaki bombing on display at Fife’s secret bunker near Anstruther (August 15) provide a lot of food for thought.
Not least is military photography expert Tom Lamb’s view. His belief was that these images were originally propaganda against the Americans. At the anniversary of victory over Japan it is important to look at the historical context.
There is some reason to believe that the saturation bombing of the Japanese mainland in the months before hadlimited impact on Emperor Hirohito and his military.
Any war strategist had to take into account the potential loss of life involved in an invasionof the mainland.
Anyone who had been aware of the brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners of war would be aware of the attitude of mind they were up against.
I think it is a good thing that the pictures on display in Fife’s East Neuk should get us thinking about the horrors of nuclear warfare.
It should get us thinking too about the suffering imposed on many people by a ruthlessJapanese military regime.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Independence would hit poor
Sir, – It has been said by Alex Salmond that we are a rich country and that oil would be a bonus in an independentScotland.
If this was true then it is not unreasonable for the nationalists tobelieve we would have a strong economy in an independent Scotland regardless of oil revenues. So what are the facts according to Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland?
The black hole of £7.6 billion (per year) is not the full deficit. The forecast is nearer £15.6bn (10% of GDP).
The £7.6bn (black hole) is the extra we would have to find to match the expected deficit level of the rest of the UK. But how is this possible as the SNP playbook keeps telling us we pay more per capita in taxes than the rest of the UK when including oil tax revenues?
Their figures depend on oil prices being higher than the current rate. We would require North Sea revenues of around £8bn per annum (current £800 million) just to be on level terms.
The reason why we have a problem is due to our spending.
It is a £1,300 per head per annum higher than the UK average. A rich country within the Union perhaps but one can only imagine the severe cuts had we voted yes for independence last year.
The sad part is that the people who would have been hurt most are the poorest and most vulnerable and ironically the majority of the nationalist supporters.
Ian Lakin. Pinelands, Murtle Den Road, Milltimber.
Scotland needs positive vision
Sir, – This letters page has been thoroughly depressing in the last few days.
There have been so many letters and so much bitter and malevolent carping aimed at the SNP.
All politicians and political parties should be scrutinised becauseit is essential for the health of any politicalsystem.
But we have seen an outpouring of bitterness and negativity, all lacking a vision or idea of howto take this countryforward.
I would ask the political opponents of the SNP, is this all we can expect from now on and has nothing been learned from the lessons of the last election?
The political health of this country demands a healthy opposition to government but if the writers of these letters are indicative of thequality of that opposition, then we are in serious trouble.
George White. 2 Cupar Road, Auchtermuchty.
Brown silent over Chilcot
Sir, – Gordon Brown in his retirement has taken to expressing his views on matters of interestto him, in the independence referendum, inthe General Electionand now in the Labour Party leadershipelection.
But he is silent on the matter on which hecould most relevantly comment, the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war, commissioned by Prime Minister Brown in June 2009 “to establish the way decisions were made, to determine what happened and to identify lessons” and still to report more than six years later.
Les Mackay. 5 Carmichael Gardens, Dundee.