MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
White House says it prefers the UK to remain “strong, robust and united”
A variety of experts say Washington would rather avoid the disruption to NATO defenses that forming a separate Scottish military would bring. The White House weighed in carefully on the Scottish independence referendum, saying Washington would respect the outcome of the vote but would prefer the United Kingdom to remain “strong, robust and united.”
Scots vote on Thursday on whether to split from the United Kingdom or become an independent country. A variety of experts say Washington would rather avoid the disruption to NATO defenses that forming a separate Scottish military would bring.
Scottish membership in the Western alliance is not a foregone conclusion because other members, particularly states such as Spain with their own separatist worries, could block it.
President Barack Obama's chief spokesman, Josh Earnest, speaking on Monday chose his words with care when asked to comment on prospects of Scottish independence.
“This is a decision for the people of Scotland to make,” the spokesman said. ”We certainly respect the right of individual Scots to make a decision (...) along these lines. But, you know, as the president himself said, we have an interest in seeing the United Kingdom remain strong, robust, united and an effective partner.”
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Read all commentsWho cares what you think....with your own self interest and agenda....
Sep 16th, 2014 - 11:27 am 0Let me reflect and ponder for a while to see if your opinion will influence my vote...
....0.5 of a second was all it took......NO....
In other words:
Sep 16th, 2014 - 01:43 pm 0The USA does not believe in referundums to destroy the country....ummmmm
@2
Sep 16th, 2014 - 03:22 pm 0It's a bit more complicated than that I believe. The U.S. is well aware of the potential for considerable economic instability should there be a 'Yes' vote. Westminster is concerned about the possibility of a 'bank run' ala Northern Rock - obviously the U.S. is also aware of this potential. There are also security considerations - lots of defence assets are located in Scotland, including nuclear weapons. They aren't going to come out and say any of this explicitly. The last thing they want to do is provide any extra motivation to to any undecided voters.
Given your intimate knowledge of politics down under you will no doubt be aware of Tony Abbot's remarks a couple of weeks ago which Salmon pounced on like Clive Palmer diving on a doughnut. A politician like Salmon can squeeze every ounce of juice out statements like that. The U.S. is being very careful because that is the only reasonable option available to them in this situation.
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