Kenny MacAskill: Scotland should be unequivocal about supporting our European friends

A US president goes rogue. His administration launches an attack on one country, threatens another and starts killing its own people.

It sounds like the plot from a Hollywood B movie, the sort of film that would be on the wee hours or shown on some obscure cable channel. Instead it’s the reality of Donald Trump’s America. The disgraceful Congress scenes when he was defeated were just a prelude for what is unfolding now, and it’s frightening.

Journalist Seymour Hersh, a man often in the know, wrote last week that Venezuela, high seas piracy and threats to Iran are all part of a campaign to limit if not prepare for future conflict with China, both Venezuela and Iran being major oil suppliers to China. Turning off the tap or disrupting supply is all about ramping up the pressure and a prelude to an event we all dare not think about.

In the United States itself, the murder of the woman in Minneapolis was horrific, but the lies and distortion about her supposed actions were utterly disgraceful – bare-faced lying not just by lowly staffers but the president and his vice-president too. The US is in a bad place and that’s even without the “Proud Boys” or other white militia types being unleashed. Trump’s doing it all with the forces of state and powerful forces they certainly are.

It’s not going to get better anytime soon. It’s a scary world we’re now living in and it’s why independence is essential. No country can isolate itself from what is happening but being in control of your own destiny is a prerequisite for being able to take the steps to protect your nation and people. And as with so many other issues it’s why we need to move fast as events are unfolding at pace. Yet again it’s why we need to make the coming Holyrood vote a plebiscite election.

So what is Europe doing about it? Other than prime minister Sanchez in Spain, leaders have been supine at best. That Marine Le Pen was the French voice to condemn the Venezuelan attack and kidnapping is quite staggering. Macron, who has previously been pushing for a much stronger European voice, initially at least failed to condemn the flagrant US breach of international law.

The lightweight and gaffe-prone EU foreign affairs spokesperson Kaja Kallas issued a statement calling for restraint and respect for international law but condemned Madura without mention of the US. Meanwhile, Keir Starmer was simply Starmer, who more and more in these situations resembles Peter Sellers as the bumbling and accidental leader in the spoof movie Being There.

Sycophancy is getting the UK nowhere. It is not rated and not in the loop. Yet still Starmer ploughs on. Ignoring the actions in Venezuela, he seems to think assisting in piracy will ingratiate him with Trump. But nothing will and all he’s done is comprise Scotland in particular.

What should be getting done? The cancellation of Trident would be a good start. There’s no economic, military or moral argument for nuclear weapons and even the argument of deterrence is now lost.

Deter who? It’s an American system which the UK pays handsomely for and the costs of which are beggaring the British Army. It can’t be used without American support, if not actual say-so.

Yet the threats are now from the US itself when it comes to any invasion of Greenland or with Russia in the Ukraine. What would happen if the US struck a deal with Putin but Europe disagreed?

There are limits to what any small nation can do but you can still seek to position yourself for your country’s best interests. For too long the New SNP have simply signed up for me-tooism with the UK.

There probably was little that could have been done to have stopped the US using Wick in the tanker operation. The Scottish Government wouldn’t have been in the loop as the UK was in the boarding of the Russian flagged ship and would neither have known nor the airport have had any powers to board. But now they know what’s been done, it should be made clear to the US that it’s unacceptable and must not be repeated.

What must be done though is to be clear to our international allies that we will support them and have their backs. That includes south of the Border where, although the removal of Trident from the Clyde is non-negotiable, we should continue to assure them of our support for the defence of our shared island.

Similarly with Norway, Ireland, Canada and others. Our geographical position is vital for them. We won’t participate in acts of aggression by the US but we will ensure that we do what’s necessary to defend them to the best of our ability.

I recall in 2014 being told in no uncertain terms by diplomats from these allied nations how they wished us well for independence but would vehemently oppose it if we threatened their security.

Scotland should oppose American warmongering but be unequivocal about our determination to support our friends.

[This article was first published in The National on Monday 12th of January 2026]