February 18, 2013 Credit: Photo Credit: Crown Copyright Tony
Osborne London In 2014, the people of Scotland will be asked
whether their country should become independent. A “yes”
response will have dramatic consequences for the defense of the
British Isles. Since 1707, Scotland has been a part of the
United Kingdom and has almost always been governed centrally
from London. But the creation of a devolved government in 1999
and the 2011 swearing in of a nationalist administration has
accelerated the march to independence. Under Scottish National
Party (SNP) plans, an independent Scotland would keep sterling
as its currency—at least initially—and retain the queen as its
head of state. Though a close relationship with England seems
solid, defense remains something of a sticking point. Since the
1960s, the U.K.'s submarine-based nuclear deterrent has been
situated on the highly guarded Faslane Naval Base. Four
Vanguard-class submarines, each capable of carrying 16 Trident
submarine-launched ballistic missiles, mai