Posted on 12/02/2010 12:42:52 PM PST by WesternCulture
USA's Sweden ambassador has reported that Sweden is a "strong and pragmatic partner", whose official non-alignment does not reflect reality, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks this week.
Among the wealth of documents that the whistleblower website Wikileaks has exposed include several hundred from the US embassy in Stockholm, showing a close security arrangement with the US, according to the Svenska Daglbadet daily.
In a classified telegram from May 4th 2007, prior to prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's visit to the USA, the then US ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood wrote that Sweden was a "pragmatic and strong" partner.
Wood added that even though the official line is non-alignment, Swedish participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace and role as leader of the EU's Nordic Battle Group show that the position is an untruth.
Then US president George W Bush is advised to discuss with Reinfeldt in private, if he wants to praise Sweden's role in the cooperation against terrorism, a formulation which is taken to meant that the ambassador did not believe that the extent of the cooperation is known across the government offices.
Wood furthermore wrote that information from Sweden's military and civil security services is an important source of information for the USA for Russian military conditions and for knowledge of Iran's nuclear programme.
According to further US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks this week, Sweden wanted Russian kicked out of the Council of Europe following the Georgian war in 2008.
"Sweden, as Chair of the Council of Europe, will seek to solicit support from other Council of Europe members against Russia and in the next few months will attempt to vote Russia out," an August 2008 cable from the US embassy in Stockholm read.
"This is still in the early planning stages, but is a current goal of (Foreign Minister) Bildt," the cable read.
"Current thinking is to use Sweden's chairmanship of the Council of Europe (until Nov. 2008) to mobilise support to kick Russia out of the Council of Europe," the note continued.
A spokesperson for Carl Bildt, who remains Sweden's foreign minister, refused to comment on the cable when contacted by AFP.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also refused to comment on the cable, telling the TT news agency that "I cannot judge this. I don't know what it (the cable) says or what Carl had in mind."
According to the document, Sweden, Britain, Belgium, Denmark, the Baltic states, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bulgaria wanted "a strong statement against Russian action."
Those countries disagreed with France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Malta and Cyprus, for whom the priority was to "stop the suffering and ensure the ceasefire is respected."
Russian troops invaded a part of Georgia in August 2008 to push back Georgian forces who were seeking to retake control of breakaway region South Ossetia, and they still occupy 20 percent of Georgia's territory.
At the time, Bildt evoked Adolf Hitler in condemning Russia's attacks on Georgia over the breakaway region, saying the protection of Russians there did not justify the assault.
The conflict had chilled relations between Russia and NATO, and between Sweden and Russia.
"Neutrality" is a formal diplomatic stance any nation is free to claim, bearing little meaning in relation to how it acts.
It also is of importance to distinguish between common internatiolnal law and international diplomacy.
Today, most Swedes (and others) believe Sweden remained all "neutral" during WWII.
Yes, it's true Sweden traded with both Britain and Nazi-Germany (just like America did) during in this war and that Sweden claimed to be "neutral" regarding their conflict as such.
Yet, Sweden was not "neutral" in relation to a nation like Soviet after Stalin's attack on Finland in WWII. In formal terms Sweden changed her status from "neutral" to "non-belligerent" in the connection to the outbreak of the Winter War, but whatever our declarations happened to look like, we were able of supplying Finland with arms and other resources needed to defeat invading Communist forces.
It was a victory won, not by words, but by taking Stalin by the horns.
Prior to, during and past my own personal existence that is.
Sweden was one (among very few) of the European nations that took part in creating successful colonies on North American soil.
Many US citizens of today have some sort of personal tie to Sweden.
Since long, we both are highly suspicious, to say the least, of nations like Russia, Iran and China.
Our two countries probably never have agreed much concerning the full array of international issues, but neither has France and Britain, Spain and Portugal and I'd say Sweden and the US get along better than most other countries do.
To me, it's hardly surprising that Americans with a little of insight into world affairs view Sweden as an alley of USA.
I, personally, hope to be one - and not only a “pragmatic” one.
“....Wikileaks has exposed include several hundred from the US embassy in Stockholm, showing a close security arrangement with the US,....”
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In view of the dangers that the ROP pose to the rest of the world, the nations of the West will have to make mutual security arrangements.
>Since long, we both are highly suspicious, to say the least, of nations like Russia, Iran and China.<
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You’re overlooking or minimizing the dangers of Islam.
Sweden is Massachusetts or Minnesota with its own currency and foreign policy. And a very dangerous eastern neighbor. Sweden has long been a de facto U.S. ally. Nothing new. Swedish armed neutrality serves U.S. purposes.
And how many people know about the Swedish submarine (and crew) that the U.S. Navy leases to play OPFOR for ASW exercises in the Pacific?
Good post.
We are in the process of building new alliances that reflect the new post-cold-war reality. A lot of that is below the radar.
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