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| Europe | |
| Assertive Russia Causes Military Rethink in Sweden | |
| 2014-12-13 | |
| [AnNahar] With an assertive Russia next door, Sweden has started to beef up its military after a decade of downsizing, but a credible deterrent may take years to achieve, analysts warn. In one of the most dramatic steps since the end of the Cold War, Sweden has brought back the option of using reservists to boost its military force, making no attempt to hide the fact that the main motivation behind the move is Russia. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist went on TV this week to argue the move was necessary against the backdrop of Russia's rearmament and its annexation of Crimea, as well as the Ukrainian conflict. The decision also came just two months after Sweden got a rough wake-up call in the form of a lengthy but ultimately futile submarine hunt in the Stockholm archipelago. Although no Swedish official ever identified the nationality of the elusive mini-sub, it was widely believed to be Russian. "There is a pattern of Russia elbowing into its neighbors, including Sweden," said Stefan Hedlund, researcher at Uppsala University's Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. "It could even be happening a little more with Sweden, because maybe they see that Sweden is a country with no defense capability whatsoever," he told AFP. Following this week's decision, the Swedish armed forces can oblige 7,500 Swedes -- who received military training between 2004 and 2011 -- to participate in training exercises from the end of 2015. The measure is a sign that traditionally pacifist and unaligned Sweden, which marks two centuries of continuous peace this year, is weighing new options. "It's fully possible that Sweden becomes a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member and that we reintroduce conscription and build up our defense," said Hedlund. "But it's exactly as possible that nothing of this happens." Much uncertainty surrounds Russia's intentions in the Baltic, but there is growing concern that the Kremlin could seek to push the envelope in the region the same way it did in Ukraine. Poland's defense minister Tomasz Siemoniak warned Thursday that in recent days there had been "unprecedented Russian activity from its Baltic fleet to flights over the Baltic Sea", and on Friday his colleague in Estonia said a Russian plane had violated its airspace. Amid the growing apprehension in the region, Sweden has sharpened its rhetoric, with new Prime Minister Stefan Loefven saying after the submarine hunt that the Nordic country would defend its "territorial integrity with all available means." Those means are shrinking -- since the end of military service in 2010 the Swedish armed forces have struggled to attract new recruits. To really make a difference, more is needed than calling up reservists, according to Hedlund. "This is just a political maneuver from the politicians, because they understand that they've led a disastrous policy over the last 10 years, in which they've dismantled Sweden's defense," he said. "No matter what they do today, it's going to take 10 to 15 years to build up a defense capable of protecting Sweden." Sweden's military has not beaten around the bush about the consequences of a decade of cutbacks, with the commander-in-chief having gone on record as saying that he would only be able to defend the nation against a foreign invader "for a week". Jacob Westberg, researcher at the Swedish National Defense College, argued that there is no reason to fear an immediate Russian challenge of the U.S. or NATO. "But in the long run, if this asymmetric rearmament trend continues, with democratic Western Europe cutting defense budgets and Russian defense investments growing, the outlook in 10 or 15 years looks worrisome," he said. Sweden's nearly 10 million people are concerned, and close to half want a stronger defence. According to a survey by polling institute Ipsos for the daily Dagens Nyheter earlier this year, 45 percent of Swedes think that defense spending should increase, while 36 percent think it should stay the same, and only 10 percent want it to shrink.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania strike £240 million of arms deals as they watch Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian adventure with alarm | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #8 I guess our new found pacifism makes everybody nervous. Putin will laugh at us as Hilarity and Elisabeth Warren campaign against each other. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2014-12-13 22:38 |
| #7 Hey, welcome back to the real world, Sweden. We'll be joining you in 2 more years. Love, Uncle Sam. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2014-12-13 15:09 |
| #6 Gotta have something to sink it with, Steve. Right now, Sweden is down to less than a dozen anti-submarine ships, with a long, Long, LONG coastline. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2014-12-13 14:11 |
| #5 When they sink a submarine of "undisclosed nationality" that's been canoodling in Swedish waters then I'll know they're serious... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2014-12-13 09:38 |
| #4 If they are talking about joining NATO, then they must have really been jolted by Putin's actions - I guess Vlad just needs to start hooting about Lebensraum & get a Time Man of the Year award, and the transformation will be complete. Still it would be amusing to see Sweden in NATO along with Finland. That might set Putin off enough to induce a stroke. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-12-13 08:43 |
| #3 ...definite disadvantage of not having a militia. See-Switzerland. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-12-13 08:25 |
| #2 Once they "beefed up their military", will they attempt to reconquer Malmo? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-12-13 04:06 |
| #1 Again, Putin's = Russia's focii remains primarily ala the Hard Boyz + Global Nuclear? Jihad. The US + NATO-EU can help Russia keep GERMANY under wraps = not a threat, but the Hard Boyz are a dangerous, hard-to-predict wild card for Russia. As a reminder ... * RUSSIA TODAY > PUTIN: RUSSIA WILL BE A SOVEREIGN [+ Secure/Safe] NATION OR WILL CEASE TO EXIST. By extension, RUSSIA = USA = mus rule its future OWG Global Federal Union e.g. Eurasian Customs Union + NAU, or it will disappear from Histoire'. * WORLD NEWS > [Stars-N-Stripes] US OFFICIAL: FIGHT AGZ ISIS IN "EARLIEST PHASES". Ditto for Russia, + Darth Vlad wants to be prepared N-O-W agz any Hard Boyz threat, NOT LATER. * JAPAN TIMES > UZBEK PRESIDENT ASKS PUTIN TO HELP FIGHT RADICAL ISLAMISM IN CENTRAL ASIA, espec as the US-NATO PULL OUT of AFGHANISTAN. * WAFF > DAVID CAMERON " EUROPEAN UNION WIDOUT TURKEY IS STRONGER, NOT WEAKER". |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-12-13 01:09 |