NATO News and Discussion

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

Here's an actual article on the subject:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu ... 024-02-27/

[Time_Traveller]

Sweden finally joins Nato after nearly two-year wait

Thu 7 Mar 2024 16.42 GMT



Sweden has officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country and the western military alliance.

Stockholm’s ratification process was finally completed in Washington on Thursday, as Sweden and Hungary – the last country to ratify Sweden’s membership – submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process that has taken nearly two years.

For Sweden, it marks the end of a 20-month-long wait that started in May 2022 when it submitted its application to join alongside Finland, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Finland became Nato’s 31st member last year.

Ratification also marks a historic sea change in Sweden’s national and international identity, as it shifts away from the neutrality that started at the end of the cold war.

The ratification cements Nato’s control of the Nordic region, with all countries now members, and makes the Baltic an entirely “Nato sea”

.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... opposition

[Time_Traveller]

Sweden and Finland join Nato's biggest military exercise in decades

2 hours ago



There was a time when Nato would do its best to avoid direct mention of Russia when conducting its military manoeuvres. Not least for fear of provocation. But Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine has changed all that.

Now the alliance's drills have Moscow in mind. One of the key stated objectives of Exercise Steadfast Defender is to deter Russia. It's the alliance's largest since the end of the Cold War, involving 90,000 military personnel and taking place right across Europe's eastern flank over the next few months.

Steadfast Defender is also the first test of Nato's new military plans - designed to move troops and equipment at speed and scale to bolster any ally under attack. And it's an affirmation of the very purpose of Nato - that an attack on one would prompt a response from all.

Donald Trump may have called that into question, but America remains the backbone of that pledge and has committed huge resources to prove it.

The first stage of the exercise is taking place in the remote white wilderness of the Finnmark region of northern Norway. It's not that far from Norway's 120-mile border with Russia. Though in this scenario Finnmark's been invaded by a fictional enemy called Occasus.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68535762

[caltrek]

Sweden’s NATO Membership Will Further Intensify The Arctic Geopolitical Rivalry
by K.M. Seethi
March 11, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurasia Review) With Sweden’s admission into NATO, after Finland, the Nordic nation’s integration into the US-led Atlantic alliance extends the military tension into the Arctic region. This escalation introduces a new dimension of geopolitical rivalry between Russia and NATO, thereby exacerbating unrest in the security landscape in the High North. Sweden’s inclusion in the Atlantic alliance means that seven out of the eight members of the Arctic Council are now NATO Allies. This configuration poses a heightened strategic threat from the alliance to Russia in the Arctic region.

On March 7, 2024, Sweden officially became the newest member of NATO by depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States government in Washington, DC. With Sweden’s accession, the total number of countries within NATO has now reached 32. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed Sweden’s historic accession, granting the nation an equal role in shaping policies and the protection of Article 5. Emphasizing Sweden’s capable armed forces, Stoltenberg asserted the strengthened security of both Sweden and the Alliance. The official flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters on March 11, 2024, symbolizes Sweden’s integration and the Alliance’s commitment to an open-door policy.

According to Mike Winnerstig, the shift in the Swedish government’s stance towards NATO membership can be attributed to some key factors. First, the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, presented a significant challenge to European security, prompting a reevaluation of Sweden’s neutral policy. Despite historical security challenges, including world wars and the Cold War, Sweden had maintained its neutrality. However, the Ukrainian conflict prompted a shift in the official stance. Another factor was the internal study initiated by the government after warming up to the idea of NATO membership, with the report indirectly recommending it as the most suitable response to Russian aggression. The strategic alignment with Finland was yet another compelling factor, where close political and military cooperation made it apparent that a Finnish NATO membership would likely lead to a Swedish one. The importance of a ‘defence deficit’ factor also played a crucial role in the Swedish decision, even though it is not often explicitly stated.

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/11032024 ... nalysis/

[Time_Traveller]

Laura Kuenssberg: West facing 'authoritarian' alliance, says Nato chief

3 hours ago

An "alliance of authoritarian powers" is working more closely together against Western democracies, the head of Nato has warned.

Jens Stoltenberg told the BBC that Russia, Iran, China and North Korea are increasingly aligned.

He also said he was confident allies of the Nato military alliance would agree a long-term funding deal for Ukraine by July.

But he suggested Ukraine might have to decide on some "kind of compromises".

Mr Stoltenberg was speaking to Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday morning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68743805

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

A wargame simulated a 2nd Trump presidency. It concluded NATO would collapse.

Michael Peck
May 12, 2024, 10:00 AM BST

If Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House in November, NATO may fall apart, a recent wargame found.

As a presidential candidate, Trump has threatened to quit NATO unless European allies contribute more, and should he carry it out Europe may decide to go it alone on defense, the game suggests. "A US policy of frustrating NATO has the potential to cause the alliance to collapse, with the EU as a candidate for eventually replacing NATO's ultimate function — defending Europe from Russia," wrote Finley Grimble, the British defense expert who designed and ran the game.

The US doesn't have to withdraw from NATO to imperil the 75-year-old alliance. Technically, the US is barred from leaving NATO after Congress voted in 2023 to prohibit withdrawal without congressional approval.

But the game showed how Trump — the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who said on the campaign trail that he'd encourage Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" with NATO allies who spend too little on their militaries — could undermine NATO simply by doing as little as possible to support the alliance. "What Donald Trump can do is just really hollow out what NATO does," Grimble told Business Insider. "He doesn't need to leave NATO to ruin it. He can ruin it from within."

Grimble, who has conducted wargames for the British government, conceived of this game after claims by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton that he talked then-President Trump out of withdrawing from NATO in 2018. He designed a tabletop simulation where the players — mostly British specialists in defense, intelligence and foreign policy — assumed the role of leaders of the 32 NATO nations, plus Ukraine and Russia; China was played by the umpires. The US was played by an American who "was trying to enter into the psyche of Trump, which was no easy task," Grimble recalled.

Trump, who faces criminal charges in four separate cases, has been criticized for sowing chaos in American politics. And chaos is exactly what happens in the game when the fictional Trump takes office in January 2025.

https://www.businessinsider.com/a-warga ... pse-2024-5