NATO should expediate acceptance of Finland and Sweden
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Why, though, should NATO want to add two more nations to its mutual-defense commitments? Despite what the emotionally twisted Russian dictator Vladimir Putin says, the two Nordic nations pose no offensive threat against Russia. But through control of Baltic Sea lanes, they are well positioned to help stop Russia from using its northern ports to project sea power if Russia attempts to conquer more territory or sovereign nations. NATO could be particularly reliant on Nordic assistance if Russia tries to annex NATO nations Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
NATO is a purely defensive alliance, a fact President Joe Biden should stress in public more than he does, and Finland especially, with its well trained armed forces, can mightily help with the common defense.
Worrywarts who listen to Putin’s threats to attack if NATO membership expands don’t understand the balance of forces. First, Putin knows Finland on its own is no easy target, with a reserve military force of 900,000 and its historically proved record of using tough terrain to its advantage successfully to repel the Soviet invasion of 1939. Second, Putin knows NATO’s combined force of 3.5 million readily available military personnel dwarfs Russia’s active-duty 900,000, and he now knows that his forces are too weak even to overwhelm Ukraine’s 200,000.
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Russia brought this move on itself. Its illogical invasion of Ukraine was a historic mistake. I exposed the Russian military as not up to the job at the same time it encouraged others to join NATO to avoid further Russian perfidy. On top of that Ukraine was never a threat to Russia.
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