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The Herald Scotland

Trump is out to sacrifice Ukraine to appease Russia. We must step up

Acting indirectly in a way that aids Russia in this conflict is consistent with President Trump's previous actions. The conclusion can only be that United States policy is to so degrade Ukraine's ability to resist that it will be forced to the negotiating table and concede to most of Vladimir Putin's territorial demands, and perhaps some of his political ones too. It looks as though Ukraine will be sacrificed in order to obtain what US commentators tell us is Donald Trump's aim of restoring good-long term relations with Russia, with the hope of weaning it off its present alliance with China. In the new world of major powers doing what they will in their own self-perceived interests, there is from the White House standpoint, logic in the Trump blow to Ukraine. But it is not in the short or long-term interests of Europe's nations to see the first war in the continent since 1945 end in a substantial victory for the aggressor. Our leaders may have lavished excessive praise on their American "Daddy 'at the Nato summit, but he is now posing a problem that requires them to get up off their knees and make sure his 'surrender Ukraine' policy is contested where it matters – with the necessary European supply of armaments to Ukraine's fighting forces. Jim Sillars, Edinburgh. Read more letters Defining terrorists Isobel Lindsay (Letters, July 3) is to be applauded for reminding us of the very deliberate and carefully organised "terrorist" atrocities committed by the IDF, if we accept the Oxford Dictionary's definition of that term. Distortion and corruption of the word "terror" for political purposes can be traced back to the 1990 US "Project For The New American Century", which stated that any opposition to the aim of making America great was always "terrorism". President George W Bush, following 9/11, thus justified his "War on Terror"; and "terrorists" were born in a series of illegally-invaded states in the Middle East. A startling example of how the magic wand of language gives instant power to label and control. Indeed it looks as if some governments may now seek to extend the power of this unjustified label. I am old enough to recall how, as youngsters, we praised the courage and martyrdom of the Free French and all the other European patriots who actively opposed Nazi expansion. Today, those who might wish to express any degree of sympathy for opponents of ambitious invaders dare nor whisper the names by which those patriots are honoured in their own countries. Setting aside their unexplained failure to apply any sort of moral or humanitarian test to what Israel/US is succeeding in doing in Palestine, our leaders seem unable or unwilling to read the frightening lessons of history. Murdo Grant, Rosemarkie. Stop these giant turbines Surely something must be done urgently to stop the mad dash to construct massive wind power stations on hills and high ground all over Scotland? These structures are now routinely proposed to be 200m (656ft) high, and unlike previous industrial structures such as coal mines, where the pithead was often just 25m high and in a town in a valley, the new epidemic of wind turbines is already ruining, or threatening to ruin, vast tracts of Scotland's internationally renowned landscapes, from Lewis to East Sutherland, from Caithness to the Borders, from Moray to Ayrshire, from Perthshire to Argyll, and beyond. Until recently wind turbines 200m high were only considered for offshore developments, since they are about twice the size of wind turbines we already see near Stirling, Greenock or Ardrossan. Building such new gigantic structures represents a momentous industrialisation of our landscapes. Even peat uplands are being considered as possible construction sites, despite the inevitable CO2 thereby released, and applications for sites where permission had previously been refused are frequently being reconsidered. In practice the new planning policy NPF4 appears to be out of control. Other options, such as hydro, micro-hydro, tidal and solar are available in the "basket of renewables". Although sometimes more expensive to build, these in the medium and long term would surely make more sense. Avoiding onshore wind industrialisation should be a Scottish Government priority. I wonder how many of your readers know about plans to build giant turbines above Balloch (at Auchenreoch Moor), and above Dunoon, on the Bishop's Seat hilltops? The latter would affect Dunoon's status as the "Gateway to the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park". And at present, the danger is very real that, once one scheme is approved for wind industrialisation on a specific site, others will follow, changing the whole essence of the Scotland we know – and cherish. Judging by the recent letter sent to the First Minister by no fewer than 42 community campaign groups across Scotland calling for a moratorium on Scottish wind farms, and the recent unprecedented meeting of over 30 community councils in Beauly to discuss the issue, serious concern is widespread. It is surely high time the Scottish Government took note and urgently amended its renewables policies accordingly. Philip Norris, for Save Cowal's Hills, Dunoon. Wind turbines are getting bigger (Image: PA) Burning question Reading Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's recent consultation document on the future of the service, I came across an option which has me slightly worried. One of the options is to close Cowcaddens fire station, while "maintaining ownership of the neighbouring Maitland Street site for future development". "Future development" has the ghastly sound of still more student flat boxes on the site at the expense of the city centre fire station. Perhaps someone from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue could clarify this option. Stuart Neville, Clydebank.