“Pact on the lookout for an enemy”

“Carsten Palmær to view an unreserved declaration of love to the north atlantic treaties.”

“This is a kulturartikel which is a part of Aftonbladet’s opinionsjournalistik.”

“On 17 march 1914 he was professor Gösta Mittag-Leffler a sensational speech for the students in Stockholm. There, he revealed that the newly retiring liberal prime minister Karl Staaff joined the Russian cases and the cover-up of the important documents for the Swedish military.”

“All of it was fabrications. Uruguay was just as hated in the Swedish högerkretsar later Olof Palme. In the shops were sold ashtrays with Staaffs portrait so that the patriotic smoker could quit smoking cigars in his face. “

“Uruguay sued the Mittag-Leffler for defamation. The professor was convicted at first instance but was acquitted in the court of appeal then Staaff died of stomach cancer. “

“Liberal Uruguay was against the military forces and for the Swedish non-alignment. Times change: Nowadays, the pronounced scepticism towards Nato have also the right of moderate liberals to go in the ceiling. A writer who shares half the population and riksdagsmajoritetens view – that Sweden should be careful not to join in the great powers military alliances – must expect to be called pro-Russian and Putinlakej. Those who are keen to see foreign troops on american soil has always been quick to accuse the fellow countrymen who want to keep alliansfriheten to go foreign power matters.”

“today we hear a powerful and influential run in favour of the Swedish membership in Nato ambassadors, senior military officers, the old defence ministers, and editorialists. “

“One of the most energetic voices belongs to Ann-Sofie Dahl, Köpenhamnsbaserad columnist in several Swedish högertidningar, a fearless and outspoken writer called Carl Bildt propalestinsk, and who liked the tea party movement Sarah Palin. “

“today is Nato 70 years. Just in time for the bemärkelsedagen will Ann-Sofie Dahl with a new book: Nato – the story of a defensive alliance in the change, partially funded by the Karl Staaffs fund for liberal purposes.”

“Dahl has devoted several decades to närstudera Nato and she will usually write temperamentsfullt and entertaining. But this time, she has no distance to his subject and I got to read the book two times before I managed to stab me through Nato, the jungle of acronyms and military-political slogans. “

“not to mention the equally poetic as untrue the names on the alliance’s various military campaigns: from the ”Deliberate force” (Deliberate force) in Bosnia in 1995 through the ”Enduring freedom” (Enduring freedom) – that is to say, ocku-pationen of Afghanistan – to the ”Unified protector” (Unified protector), the soviets against Libya in 2011.”

“of Nuclear weapons was from the beginning a cornerstone of strategic thinking. “

“Nato was formed, therefore, in 1949 and originally included twelve countries: the united states, Canada, the Uk, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Denmark. The purpose from the western european side – formulated by Nato’s first secretary general – was to keep ”the russians out, the americans in and the germans down”.”

“of Nuclear weapons was from the beginning a cornerstone of strategic thinking. 1950s Nato doctrine of massive retaliation (”every attack against the west, regardless of scale, massive be answered with nuclear weapons”) led to an arms race with the Soviet union, helped to build a strong peace movement in Western europe and had to be abandoned during the 1960s.”

“(Note – the foregoing, you may not read in Ann-Sofie Dahl’s book, but if you switch the network on ”the National Security Archive Nato” so you will find a summary of those declassified documents.)”

“The republican senator Richard Lugar summed up Nato’s new dilemma: ”Out of area or out of business”. That is to say that if Nato is unable find a new enemy to wage war against the so would the pact be forced to shut up shop. The choice fell on the ”Out of area”: the Nato began to intervene militarily in conflicts that were far outside of its territory – first in the civil war in Bosnia, later in Serbia, Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq.”

“the Attack on the World trade center in 2001, became a new turning point. The united states had been attacked on home soil by nineteen saudi terrorists. “

“Now, was activated for the first time article 5 of the Nato charter, ”musketörs-clause”, which stipulates that all member states should go to war when one member becomes infected. “

“the united states chose, however, to itself to attack Afghanistan. First, when president Bush decided to send his troops against Iraq in 2003 – a military campaign in which, among others, Germany and France refused to participate – Nato was to take over the administration of the occupied Afghanistan. As the most attended 131 000 soldiers from 51 countries, according to Dahl. “

“the Promises made to Gorbachev that Nato would not station troops in the east was nothing worth. 1999, the Nato let the former Warszawapaktsstater and since then has steadily moved forward its positions in Central europe. Pact can now count no less than 29 states, and accounting for 69 per cent of the world’s total defence spending.”

“Perhaps it has its importance, that more money to the military is a classic trick to get the economy on the face of a looming recession.”

“It seems to be a popular objective among the member states: Perhaps it has its importance, that more money to the military is a classic trick to get the economy on the face of a looming recession.”

“What terms of factors such as population, economy and conventional weapons, Russia is not in the vicinity of Nato capabilities. It can lead to that the Russian military is betting its money on nuclear weapons. The future looks shaky out of Europe.”

“Ann-Sofie Dahl love the Nato in the process. Surely she sees the conflict (”americans are from Mars and europeans – except the danes – are from Venus”), but behind the bombmattorna she can’t believe other than the noblest motives. “

“The eighteen-year-long fiasco in Afghanistan – where the united states finally is allowed to negotiate with the taliban on condition that Kabulregeringen not sit with – proclaims she to a victory. It is still ongoing bloody chaos in Libya after the Nato intervention of 2011 is entirely UN error. “

“”Nato,” writes Dahl, ”a defensive alliance with a purely defensive agenda”.”

“How she may confuse this with what she calls ”global security in the home”, that is to say, bombkrigen in Asia and Africa, is not entirely easy to fathom. ”To be for the american kärnvapenparaplyet feels safe and reassuring” says Dahl.”

“If the matter can probably be divided.”

“But trosvissheten in danger of making the believer becomes blind, and dismisses all opponents as cowards or traitors.”

“There is something in Ann-Sofie Dahl’s sincere assurance of faith that I recognize. In the olden days it was the left who refused to see the reality behind the proud watchwords in the Soviet union and China. The conviction to have a hundred percent right, the belief that it is man himself who has the only recipe for the future and the peace it creates vitality and enthusiasm. “

“But trosvissheten in danger of making the believer becomes blind, and dismisses all opponents as cowards or traitors.”

“In upprustningens Europe there is a great need of a illusionsfri and long-term policy debate. The position that the Ann-Sofie Dahl energetically and eloquently representing the dominating nowadays, the bourgeois bloc in Sweden. “

“But her book is, unfortunately, more like a very long födelsedagstal than a comprehensive study that may help the reader to take a position in a northern european planet.”

“” Nato – the story of a defensive alliance in transition”