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Sweden Is a NATO Member

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Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#601

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have Putin making claims about borders based on his own and very selective version of history, high ranking politicians (and their media) making threats about invading or nuking other countries, and of course there's their invasion of Ukraine... Obviously people and countries will reconsider their position and act. This is a reaction to Russia's behaviour. We can't behave like dicks and then cry when people that…

How about the agreement not to expand NATO? Or Minsk agreements? It's so funny that people talk about Article 5, but don't really know what it really says! If Russia attacks Poland, let's say, because Poland gets into Ukraine, you think America will start a WWIII, because of Poland? Get real!

Please show me the document of the agreement not to expand NATO.

While you try to find that, it would be great if you could explain why countries want to give away some of their military freedom and risk being dragged to other wars and join NATO. Why did the baltic countries join? Why did Sweden and Finland - two typically anti-NATO countries - recently changed their mind without public opposition?

NATO should send Putin a "salesman of the year 2022" award. The guy managed to give a new life to the organisation and made both countries join, creating a "east expands to NATO" (and not a "NATO expands east") situation. This wouldn't have happened before Feb 2022... are we sure he isn't working for the "west"?

If you want to talk about agreements, we can start by talking about the Budapest Memorandum from 1994 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum ). It's only 6 points and very easy to understand, I recommend reading it.

I don't know who's talking about Article 5 being used when a member of NATO starts an offensive war against someone else. I also didn't read anything about Poland joining Ukraine to fight Russia (which, let's not forget, decided to wage war). Maybe you replied to the wrong person?

Not going to continue this discussion with you though. Not that the west is blameless, but I have no time to discuss with someone that blames everyone but the country that willingly started the war in Ukraine.

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#602

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the agreement not to expand NATO? Or Minsk agreements? It's so funny that people talk about Article 5, but don't really know what it really says! If Russia attacks Poland, let's say, because Poland gets into Ukraine, you think America will start a WWIII, because of Poland? Get real!

Please show me the document of the agreement not to expand NATO. While you try to find that, it would be great if you could explain why countries want to give away some of their military freedom and risk being dragged to other wars and join NATO. Why did the baltic countries join? Why did Sweden and Finland - two typically anti-NATO countries - recently changed their mind without public opposition? NATO should send P…

When Trumps get elected soon, NATO won't be such a freebie anymore! I won't be surprised if it gets dismanteled. I can accept an EU army, but NATO is a thing from the past that needs to be revisited!

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#603

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many in the US would also be happy with a stronger Europe. A friendly peer competitor to call us out if we decided to go to war to ostensibly “spread democracy” would probably be good, for example.

Isn't that how we got "freedom fries" and "with us or against us"?

We temporarily renamed some fast food that wasn’t even correctly named after them, and made a bunch of juvenile jokes about their performance in WW2 for a couple decades. I dunno, I was just a kid at the time, but I didn’t get the impression that we were taking their complaints very seriously.

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#604

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please show me the document of the agreement not to expand NATO. While you try to find that, it would be great if you could explain why countries want to give away some of their military freedom and risk being dragged to other wars and join NATO. Why did the baltic countries join? Why did Sweden and Finland - two typically anti-NATO countries - recently changed their mind without public opposition? NATO should send P…

When Trumps get elected soon, NATO won't be such a freebie anymore! I won't be surprised if it gets dismanteled. I can accept an EU army, but NATO is a thing from the past that needs to be revisited!

The goal posts keep moving. Let's get back to what you wrote above.

Are you able to find that agreement about NATO expansion or not? Can you explain why countries want to join NATO so bad?

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#605

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You expect everyone to bend over because Putin/Russia decided to go down the "I'm a mad man, give me what I want or I'll nuke you" route... that's just not how the world works. I hope you don't use this tactic yourself, because you'll end up with a broken nose (or worse) if you do it to the wrong guy. There is certainly arrogance from the west, but what do you call what Russia is doing? They literally make threats to…

No, Putin is not a madman - he was cornered. These are the facts! The West is slowly but surely bringing us at least WWIII, if not extinction! The West is always greedy and salivates over Russia's colossal territory and resources! And always gets hurt! This time, it could hurt the entire civilization, though!

Is this the "she made me do it" excuse wife beaters use, but for international relations?

Three facts (not opinions) for you:

- The revolution in Ukraine, which often is blamed by Russians and tankies on the "west", happened after the then president Yanukovych decided to abandon the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement and join Russia's Eurasian Economic Union instead when most of Ukraine was getting more pro-European Union.

- Russia started a war with Ukraine in 2014 when they invaded Crimea, breaking international law and the the Budapest Memorandum they signed. Everything - from Azovs to war crimes - came after. Russia then decided to expand that war in 2022, after being warned privately and publicly that the west would help Ukraine if they did so.

- Ukraine has been trying to join NATO since the early 2000's. NATO's open door policy is there from the start and will continue to be, but Ukraine didn't join back then and [opinion ahead, based on real numbers] wouldn't be accepted in 2014 either because they were too corrupt, bloated and incompetent.

Putin invaded, not because he was cornered, but because he saw an opportunity and took it. And let's be honest, it worked. A few hundred unmarked soldiers and people with guns (eg: Igor Girkin) transporting politicians around to vote to join Russia... there were some protests, some sanctions, but nothing serious. He tried to do the same again in 2022, but it didn't work.

I don't know why people like you try to come up to excuses when even Putin himself from time to time drops the BS and just says he did it because he could. Want to support Russia? Fine, but cut the bullshit. You like seeing them attacking and stealing land from a neighbour, you just lack the balls to admit it.

My eyes rolled when you mentioned Russia's resources. We have the money to buy their resources. Europe depended on their gas and, to a lesser extent, their oil. It was fine, everyone - including Russia - was getting richer, we had strong economies, we used their gas and they used our planes and technology. No reason at all to start a war. What do we need their land for? Who was calling for an invasion/annexation/controlling of Russian land or a war with Russia (a nuclear power!)? Most countries in Europe don't even want to spend 2% of their GDP now (post invasion)... but they want a conflict with Russia?

Again, you only blame one side for that WW3 that is surely about to happen (lol). Russia, which as you've said is not governed by a madman (or a bunch of amateurs that are easily played), decided to start a war in Europe. Can't you see that they have so much power and that they could stop it all? They could also stop making threats like the ones that mention that Sarmat you talked about, but they don't. And where's the "we'll leave Ukraine if we they don't join NATO" proposal?

Anyway, while it "takes two to tango", you can only blame one side. And that's the problem with your position.

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#606

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck to those launching Sarmats too as they'll have to stop the Tridents, Minutemen, M51, etc. It's important to remember that while they don't make weekly threats, there are three NATO countries with land/sea based nuclear weapons. Realistically, there's no defending from nuclear weapons. That's why MAD, while crazy, works.

It doesn't have to be even Sarmat; it could be Poseidon - options are plentiful. I doubt anyone would have the balls to respond to a nuclear attack. The issue is who's crazier to do the first one, and if one truly believes Russia and Putin are crazy evil, then one should act respectively! So far, I don't see intelligent behavior from the West - I see arrogance, which always has a high cost!

[deleted]

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#607

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Sweden's ports are beneficial in a potential Arctic conflict How? Norway (long a member) has Arctic ports, Sweden does not touch the Arctic.

Indeed. Plus Finland is already in the club, and they're def. on the arctic.

They are not.

Not since the 1940s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Armistice

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#608
post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good. It discourages attacks from Russia, the only bellicist nation in the region.

Interesting. I learnt the word 'bellicist' for the first time.

I think the more proper word in that context is bellicose (adjective). Bellicist is a noun.

Same root as the more common words belligerent and antebellum.

You may have also heard of “casus belli” (rationale for declaring war).

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#609
post #418
post #293

One thing that isn't mentioned a lot in connection to this: Sweden and Denmark has a VERY violent history. Hundreds of years of wars. It is said to be the worst conflict in all of human history. Now we are allied and committed to defend each other. That's a huge thing for peace.

I have many Serbian friends going for holidays in Croatia. Unthinkable 30 years ago. So maybe, in 50 years from now, Russia will join NATO, too?

Indeed, let's not forget our incredible human capacity for forgiveness. Two major peace treaties I pray to see every day is Palestine and Israel and for the Russians and Ukrainians to be brothers.

Sometimes I wonder what a unified world look like, for example what would it look for Palestine and Israel becoming a single nation? For South Korea and North Korea to merge again in brother hood? For China and Taiwan ? etc.

Like how boring would the news be in complete peace? what we wound be doing instead if we weren't busy killing each other?

Just some questions I ponder sometimes..

Re: Sweden Is a NATO Member

#610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So maybe, in 50 years from now, Russia will join NATO, too? Probably not. Russian history for the last several hundred years is a series of kings, emperors, and dictators. Massacres and purges. The entire peasantry was only freed from slavery 150 years ago. Being ruled by hereditary monarchs and dictators for so long has fundamentally changed Russian culture to be vastly different from the West. IMO it would take a…

Isn't that true of, say, western Europe too, perhaps leading Russia by 50 years or so?

Western Europe was not too different at the start of the medieval period but then evolved in a different direction. The King's Two Bodies by Ernst Kantorowicz is a good read on this.
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