Sweden and Finland have modern defense forces and NATO forces in Northern Europe, says General David Petraeus. The countries will slide seamlessly into NATO, experts believe.
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The general, who has previously been CIA director and commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan, believes that Sweden and Finland are good candidates for NATO membership.
Former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Rose Gottemoeller, believes that the two countries will give NATO more political weight, in addition to strengthening the alliance in terms of defense.
The two former defense leaders now work as analysts and experts and are in agreement that NATO will be stronger with Finland and Sweden.
– Sweden and Finland have very impressive and professional military forces, with good equipment and level of training. They served as part of the coalition in Afghanistan for which I had the privilege of being commander-in-chief, and they performed well, Petraeus writes in a message to NTB.
He points out that forces from the two countries have also served in partnership with NATO elsewhere in the world.
–Strengthens the defense of Northern Europe
“Their integration into NATO will take place seamlessly and will give NATO important forces both on the ground, at sea and in the air in Northern Europe, as well as in the Baltics and the Arctic,” says Petraeus.
The fact that Finland and Sweden want to strengthen NATO’s defense capabilities in the High North is something that Norwegian politicians and defense personnel have also pointed out. When Sweden and Finland’s aircraft are included, NATO will have around 250 modern fighter jets in the High North.
“Sweden and Finland’s military forces will be a positive addition to NATO’s strength in the Baltics and the Nordic countries,” Gottemoeller told NTB.
She was Jens Stoltenberg’s Deputy Secretary General from 2016 to 2019 and is now attached to the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. She points out that Finland and Sweden have worked effectively with NATO both in the airspace in the Baltics and at sea.
– The two countries will also contribute to the political strength of the alliance because they bring with them their international influence and positive reputation. They become welcome allies, says Gottemoeller.
Close cooperation already
She says that the Nordic region is already a bloc with close cooperation in NATO, with Norway, Iceland and Denmark.
– This is due to their experience of operating in the Arctic, in addition to international leadership in some key areas such as disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. I expect that this function will be strengthened by the memberships of Sweden and Finland, says the former Deputy Secretary General.
Petraeus is today affiliated with, among others, the think tank Institute for the Study of War. There he follows Russia’s warfare in Ukraine closely.
– Russia is significantly weakened
Petraeus believes that Russia has been so weakened by the war that the country does not pose a threat to the High North for a long time.
This is despite the fact that the Arctic in particular has been identified as a possible area of conflict in the future, where Russia has strong interests.
“Russia’s forces have been significantly reduced as a result of significant losses of personnel, weapons systems and other materiel,” Petraeus said.
“They are so heavily involved in Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are launching counter-offensives around Kharkiv and elsewhere, that Russia cannot even consider significant operations elsewhere,” the general said.
–Experience in the Arctic
Aftenposten has recently written several articles about how the Arctic can become a conflict area. Gottemoeller believes that the Swedish and Finnish forces can contribute, but points out that they have already trained and interacted with NATO.
– NATO is practicing how to fight in Nordic winter conditions, also at sea, so the experience Sweden and Finland have, together with Norway, is a positive contribution to this, says Gottemoeller.
“Although Russia has modernized its military facilities in the Arctic, they have placed the greatest emphasis on ensuring that they can have control of sea routes,” she said.
Gottemoeller also points out that China will probably make itself more noticeable in the questions about the Arctic
– Historical moment
Sweden and Finland will most likely apply to become members of NATO within a very short time. Norway is among the countries that have promised to give the countries declarations of support in the time from the time the application is submitted until they are admitted as members.
On Sunday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg was also aware that the Finns and Swedes want to strengthen NATO.
– Finland and Sweden are NATO’s closest partners. If they decide to apply, it will be a historic moment. Their membership in NATO increases our common security, and demonstrates that NATO’s door is open and that aggression does not pay off, Stoltenberg said.
Both Sweden and Finland have announced increased investment in the defense. According to EU figures from 2020, the countries spent 1.2 and 1.5 per cent of GDP on the defense budget, respectively. This is below NATO’s target, which is for each member state to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defense.
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