Posted on 04/04/2023 3:53:05 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
The Nordic country will become NATO’s 31st member on Tuesday, expanding the alliance in a strategic setback for President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
(snip)
Finland’s flag is being raised on Tuesday afternoon at NATO headquarters, a deeply symbolic moment marking the Nordic nation’s official welcome into the alliance and the shifting power calculations as the West strengthens its allegiances in response to the war in Ukraine.
The president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, is expected to attend the ceremony, on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 74th anniversary, in what amounts to a strategic defeat for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has made blocking NATO expansion a goal of his leadership.
With Finland’s membership unlocked by Turkey’s vote last week to ratify its entry, NATO’s border with Russia is doubling and the alliance has gained access to a strong military with a deep history of countering its bigger neighbor.
The ceremony comes as foreign ministers from the alliance gather in Brussels for a two-day meeting. Finland’s foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, will attend the meeting — Finland’s first as a full-fledged member — although many details about how his country, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, will integrate into the alliance are yet to be determined.
A new Finnish government, still to be negotiated following an election on Sunday, will have to decide whether Finland will accept foreign troops on its soil, for example, or even nuclear weapons belonging to allies.
Mr. Niinisto judged quickly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Finland’s best protection was to drop its military nonalignment and apply to join NATO. His judgment was influential for a more hesitant Sweden, which has also applied to join.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
NATO was projected as a defensive posture against Soviet Union expanding beyond soviet union but real goal of NATO was to dismantle Soviet Union itself and it did succeed in that mission.
One would have expected NATO to wither in a post-soviet era.
But instead, NATO went expansionist, and acquired a new mission to annex all ex-soviet countries in its fold, especially those that shared borders with Russia. The rationale was to prevent Russia from expanding back again and re-absorbing ex-soviet nations. But it barely disguised its real mission that was to dismantle Russia itself.
Ukraine was the final straw that broke the camel’s back, and exposed the true mission of NATO - to abolish regional power centers, and to subordinate nation-states for a new non-multi-polar global world order - as championed by Biden as part of his global reset and Build back better initiative. And his political initiative has bitterly split the GOP in a MAGA vs Anti-MAGA camps
There are three key parts to Putin’s logic here. First, the birth rate is dropping like a rock. A fair number of people believe the official gov’t numbers given since 1990s...aren’t that true, and the population is probably three to six million less than they admit (currently advertised at 143-million).
Second, rumors around the FSB suggest that when Putin told them in summer of 2021 to crank up a plan....they thought it was like the other hundred-odd projects...just put a simple plan up for his review. The suggestion is that they never anticipated he’d go and do something like this.
Finally, Covid fears, with his health condition....convinced him he needed a legacy, and bringing Ukraine back to the ‘house’ would solidify his legend. The ten-day war seemed achievable.
That leftist female prime minister was against NATO. It was the overwhelming support for NATO from the people that made Finland join. The winner of the election 2 days ago was the most pro-NATO party in Finland.
Heh, Vlad the Imploder strikes again!
Finns - over 70% of them support joining NATO.
In January 2022 it was about 20% —> the only reason the Finns are joining NATO is because of Putin’s invasions of Georgia and Ukraine
From last May. The Finnish people are so much safer now. What was a basically an unarmed border is now full bore Cold War II. I didn’t know the Finns had the hundreds of billions laying around to fortify their 800 mile border. They don’t, but our grandchildren will step up and cover the cost of you warmongers’ ever more expensive game of Russian roulette.
They don’t have to fortify, except for the southern part. That border defends itself. The Russians found that out in the Winter War. Then the Germans found out in the Continuation War.
Albania expanded its contribution to the Alliance’s efforts to maintain peace and security in Afghanistan, such as ISAF and Resolute Support Mission, after 2014. During this period, hundreds of Albanian soldiers served with high dedication and professionalism and sacrifices in some of the ISAF regional commands, best fulfilling the duties assigned by the ISAF Command.
NATO has an open door policy for new members, Albania applied for membership, met all the prerequisites to become a member, and none vetoed their acceptance into the alliance.
Note that the only country to have invoked Article 5 of NATO (calling other NATO members to aid it) — the ONLY time it has been invoked, it had been invoked by the USA
“”70 years of peace and neutrality...thrown out the window on the whims of a drug using female Prime Minister””
Actually, the party and Prime Minister that just defeated her have made getting into NATO their focus for 17 years.
It changes in the following ways for Russia
1. Strategical — Russia would have hesitated earlier to invade Finland, now it will baulk at doing so
2. Image - the fact of a large neutral/buffer zone played into Russia’s image. Now that that is lost, Russia has lost face
Beyond that, no real “blow”, I agree
“What was a basically an unarmed border is now full bore Cold War II.”
It was NOT an unarmed border.
Finland has had full conscription for decades as a safety measure.
But thanks to Putin invading his neighbors, the Finns decided they needed to join an alliance.
WW3 isn’t going to start — no country is going to come to Russia’s military aid except Belarus
You’re wrong AGAIN. Here’s an example of what’s now underway since your DC fellow travelers started Cold War II. Here’s an example of air defense upgrades. The Finnish Border Guard? What the hell would they know, right?
You might want to check Finnish sources in an to attempt to remove that foot from your mouth.
Says FR’s primo Soros stooge.
That's surveillance aircraft for their Border Guard, and has nothing to do with "air defense". Their Air Force flies F-18's and they have 64 F-35's on order.
Thank you for making my point.
“they have 64 F-35’s on order.“
Care to speculate on how much of the cost of those will be born by the American taxpayer? I’m sure you glad to see more deadbeat NATO “partners” to be carried for generations. ALL unnecessary.
None of it. Finland purchased them for $9.4 billion. The US provides no foreign aid to Finland.
Do me a favor and tally up the cost to upgrade and renovate all the other systems currently impacted by this madness. Got a figure on those surveillance aircraft? Just like all of our other NATO “partners”, no funds from America. You should be working with a rim shot. As I said, thanks for driving my point home.
China if they give them enough oil!
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