An alliance must be able to credibly defend the borders of its member states. This would seem to be self-evident given the purpose of most alliances — finding security in numbers.
Finland has announced its intention to apply for membership in NATO. Sweden is contemplating a similar move. While it’s completely understandable why both nations are seeking the protection of the United States and its nuclear umbrella, why should it fall to the U.S to protect two nations in Russia’s crosshairs? If, God forbid, war were to break out in Europe, who could the U.S. really count on to back our play?
Let’s be real. Sweden and Finland are not joining NATO. The United States is agreeing to protect Sweden and Finland because they’re being threatened by Russia. NATO, after years of declining military spending, is a shadow of its former self.
Finland has a good, tough little army, and Sweden has an independent air force. But to deter Putin, they need America’s nuclear umbrella. Both nations know this, which is why they’re pushing to join.
There is no NATO without the United States. The alliance would hardly miss most of its 30 members. If Albania or Latvia didn’t show up at the next NATO meeting, few would notice — or care.
And yet any NATO country could start a war with Russia — just like Sweden and Finland. And the U.S. would be forced to come to their assistance.
President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement that Finland would seek membership of NATO during a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The previously neutral Nordic country shares a long border with Russia.
“This is a historic day. A new era begins,” Niinisto said.
The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days. A formal membership application will then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels, most likely at some point next week.
It may be inevitable that both Finland and Sweden join NATO simply because there has been extensive cooperation already between those two countries and the alliance. But is it wise to provoke Russia while Moscow is in the middle of a war to keep another nation — Ukraine — from joining NATO? It seems an unnecessary provocation.
Russia will conduct a “thorough analysis” of any new configuration of forces on its border before deciding on its response, he said, echoing Peskov’s comments that the degree of Russian retaliation will depend on how much NATO military infrastructure will be established on Russia’s borders.
No decisions have been reached on what kind of presence NATO will establish in Finland and Sweden once their accession has been formalized, which could be several months away. A new hitch has emerged in the form of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objection to their membership on the grounds that Sweden hosts members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
There’s a question of whether the U.S. or NATO would build bases in either country. This would be the last straw for Russia, which would then surely deploy tactical nuclear weapons to counter. The proximity of those weapons to a NATO ally would be considered a major threat, and the screws would tighten even further.
Joe Biden and the Europeans are talking themselves into a wider war. Every step they are taking to protect themselves results in another twist of the noose.
And every confident statement that everything is under control only makes us worry more.
