Sorry, I must have been on vacation...
Did Sweden recently join NATO, or are non-NATO countries contributing militarily in Afghanistan?
And have these "hundreds" of Swedish "troops" (?) been right there in the thick of the fighting -- they must have suffered lots of casualties, right?
So, why is all this not in the news?
Let's get real. Sweden spends about 1.7% of her GDP on defense. That's 35% less than our ally Greece, which has roughly the same population and GDP.
Sorry, but no one ever said the Swedes weren't smart enough, only that in recent centuries, they've done NOTHING to help defend the west militarily. Shame on them!
Ha, I seriously doubt our good friends the Greeks spend over 36% of GDP on Defense, as you claim.
- Yes.
Sweden has sent plenty of troops and other personnel to various war zones across the globe ever since the end of WWII.
I'm not an expert of these things, but I guess the expenses for these operations often are booked as “aid” and not “military expenditure”.
“Over the last 50 years 100 000 Swedish men and women have served in altogether 120 international operations in 60 different countries in support of peace, security and development. Some of these missions are long term - we´ve been in Korea for more than 50 years.”
(From a 2007 speech by Sten Tolgfors, Swedish Minister for Defence)
Regarding Swedish intervention in Afghanistan;
http://www.mil.se/en/Forces-abroad2/Afghanistan/
About the Swedish Armed Forces: