We joined to avoid war - now we are preparing for it

 

 
NATO

Planning for war has gone too far

Lena Mellin

This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.

Published 08.42

 

Ten politicians and a crown princess were flown to Brussels to watch as the Swedish flag was raised outside NATO headquarters. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP

Tonight we have been members of NATO for 19 days.

We joined to avoid war.

But the preparations for being drawn into an armed conflict have rarely been as extensive as now.
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NATO

We're in the middle of Holy Week, but war preparations don't pause for trivialities like the world's most famous execution.

On December 17, 2021, Sweden, and Finland as well as NATO and Washington received what the Chairman of the Defense Committee Hans Wallmark (M) fondly calls the "Don Corleone letters". Since then it has rolled on.

The sender was Russia, which announced that, among others, Sweden and Finland would not have full self-determination. If we did not obey, action would be taken.

Three months later, they showed that the threats were not just lip service. They booted into Ukraine full scale. The Ukrainians did not do as Putin said.

After another quarter, both we and the Finns had made up our minds. Freedom of alliance was to be exchanged for NATO, which then consisted of 30 countries, three of which had nuclear weapons.

The intention of the Western defense alliance is to scare the hell out of it so that war does not happen. The consequences of attacking a NATO country must appear so enormous that no one dares. It's called deterrence.

So we joined NATO to avoid war.

But the preparations for Swedish participation in an armed conflict are underway, albeit on a scale unprecedented in the post-war period. The war delegation recently had a large exercise together with, among others, the Swedish Armed Forces. The delegation consists of the Speaker and 50 Riksdag members and must function as a mini-Riksdag when the regular one cannot meet due to war.

At the same time, plans are being made for an extra, underground, plenary hall where the Riksdag will be able to meet if it cannot meet in the usual room. The buried variant is supposed to be around 150 meters from the other and has led to the Medieval Museum being forced to evacuate.

I would like to say that there is a kind of warmongering going on. It was accentuated at the association Folk och försvar's seminar in January. Then, among others, the Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin (M) warned of war with the "power of office":

- There could be war in Sweden.

The frenzy that erupted with flag-raising and speeches to the nation in connection with NATO entry is incomparable. Ten politicians and a crown princess were flown to Brussels to watch as the Swedish flag was raised outside the NATO headquarters on a pole that had been there for a while.

The Finns didn't let up when they became members last year. We didn't do that either when we joined the EU in 1995, even though it meant significantly bigger changes than NATO membership.

The mental preparation for the coming of war is not limited to flags and underground halls.

Already this year, defense appropriations were increased sharply, by 27 billion or 26 percent to 119 billion.

In a prelude to the defense committee's final report in April, the Center wants to invest even more money, to go from two to three percent of GDP. In round numbers, this corresponds to another 60 billion.

No party will dare to settle far below that number. It can, alas, be considered unpatriotic. The Russians are coming.

War preparations are not only made militarily. It seems the looming strike means we're finally getting a working railway. Namely, the defense requires it to transport men (of both sexes) and material, especially in the west-east direction.

The preparations are also going on in each man's head. The applications to the Home Guard are submitted in the thousands, anyone who has not bought a crank radio, preferably combined with a flashlight, should in principle be deported. We shall not mention anyone who has not put at least five large PET bottles of water in the freezer.

I am generous. It is good to be prepared for crises, regardless of their cause. But it has gone too far. The Russian is not on his way - yet.

But it can be dangerous to prepare too much. Anyone who has heard of self-fulfilling prophecies knows that. That is to say, when you prepare for a scenario to the mild degree that you ultimately hope it will turn out that way. Otherwise, even your fantastic preparations are worthless.

We joined NATO to avoid war. Then we started to plan on a large scale for what will not go away.

 

          Photo: Linus Sundahl-Djerf/Svd

THREE EXPOSURES

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Forget the gloomy Finn who sits in his solitude and looks at the bottle of vodka. That's not true, if it ever did. For the seventh year in a row, Finland tops the list of the world's happiest countries according to the UN-supported survey World Happiness Report. Sweden is fourth.

LO was a powerful factor in society. That is no longer the case. The entire LO summit, led by Susanna Gideonsson, leaves at the congress in May. But still, with only seven weeks remaining, there is still no proposal for new management. Malin Acketoft, Hotel and restaurant, is a hot chairman name.