Posted on 04/08/2022 10:49:41 AM PDT by Wuli
For most Finns, the prospect of their country joining NATO had long been virtually unthinkable. While Finland had moved closer to the military alliance over the last three decades, it had resisted the idea of becoming a full-fledged member.
That all changed when Vladimir Putin sent ten thousand tanks into Ukraine. Now Finland’s government is preparing to amend a security white paper that would lay the groundwork for the country’s application to NATO. The paper is set to be presented before the parliament on April 14, with a decision on membership anticipated in May, if not sooner.
The government’s efforts broadly reflect Finnish public sentiment. Some 60 percent of Finns now support NATO membership — a 53 percent increase from when the war began. Finland’s shift — following decades of nonalignment — is a significant change in Europe’s security environment, one that could drastically alter the map between Russia and the West. Finnish participation in the security alliance would more than double the total land border between NATO territory and Russia — to nearly 1,600 miles from some 754 miles.
This would extend NATO’s northern flank across the full length of Russia’s strategic Kola Peninsula and Murmansk region, where a sizable chunk of Russia’s navy is based. Such an expansion would also significantly reconfigure Europe’s Nordic region, giving it the requisite strategic depth and bolstering its overall security — as well as that of Baltic nations.
An eventual NATO membership for Finland could also pave the way for Sweden to follow suit. While slower to adapt to the changed geopolitical reality, Sweden has been steadily moving in the same direction. The Swedish Social Democratic Party, traditionally one of military neutrality, has begun to shed its historical skin. Mr. Putin’s brutality has shattered any illusions regarding cooperation with the Moscow regime.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Putin caused this.
So...
You get invaded by Russia and NATO does nothing.
That’s some incentive!
Putin will go down in history as the greatest destructive force against Russia in their history. He will be known as their Black Plague.
I betcha NATO membership is looking pretty good to former Eastern Bloc nations.
Yes, but,
Biden would like to put Putin did this stickers on the gas pumps.
But NATO isn't officially fighting the Russians. All they are doing is sending in arms. If NATO ever officially enters the war then we will have WWIII and that won't be good for anyone.
NATO should have been disbanded decades ago. Think of the money we would have saved. Think of how Western Europe would have had to grow up and provide its own defense. Think of what relations we could have with Russia that would be helpful against our real future enemy: China.
The West effs up and then creates a situation which they interpret as needing to eff up more. That's what happened with the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, Nixon's Price Controls, TARP, the Pandemic, etc.
According to the putinistas, Russia can now invade Finland because they fear another Nato member.
Go NATO! Yippee!
The willy-nilly creation of vague alliances will ultimately lead once again to Total War.
Ukraine wasn’t a NATO member.
Can we at least dispense with the ridiculous notion that NATO is a “purely defensive organization?”
“Because the West broke its promise to Russia about not extending NATO eastward”
Please cite the relevant treaty or formal agreement where this alleged promise was made.
Thank you.
There was a discussion with Gorbachev before the Soviet Union broke up with Bush about German reunification. Gorbachev suggested that Germany be neutral if it reunified. Bush & Baker asked if he preferred a neutral Germany that might eventually acquire its own nuclear forces.
When former Warsaw Pact nations wanted to join NATO, all we told the Russians was that we would not permanently station forces there.
Once Putin violated INF with Iskanders in Kaliningrad, the Conventional Forces in Europe and the OSCE agreements we then started talking about permanent stationing of forces in Poland and the Baltics. The current regime in DC also bent over backwards to kiss Russian butt by stopping Trump's plan to move forces from Germany to Poland and dropping US sanctions on Nord Stream II and in exchange got squat.
Now Putin will get both Sweden and Finland in NATO and a much larger presence of out-of-area forces on his borders and a Polish army twice its current size. Plus a much larger, much better trained and much better equipped Ukrainian military that will be in NATO in all but name.
“I betcha NATO membership is looking pretty good to former Eastern Bloc nations.”
Some former Warsaw Pact nations already have asked for and obtained NATO membership, and some of them are on the front lines of aid to Ukraine. The earliest ones were the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia.
>>> Can we at least dispense with the ridiculous notion that NATO is a “purely defensive organization?” <<<
No. Show us where NATO has attacked Russia.
It hasn’t. Ever.
[Can we at least dispense with the ridiculous notion that NATO is a “purely defensive organization?”]
“Can we at least dispense with the ridiculous notion that NATO is a “purely defensive organization?” “
Why? What country in Europe has NATO attacked?
Sure. Who here can condone those NATO incursions?
Serbia, Libya, Bosnia, expansion from 12 to 30 countries. Multiple color-revolutions. Yeah, they're totally defensive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.