Finland is Being Left Out In the Cold
In July 2022, with great fanfare, Jen Stoltenberg announced Sweden’s application into NATO. ‘This is a good day for Finland and Sweden and a good day for NATO,’ Stoltenberg told reporters in a joint press statement with the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers.
It is now February of 2023 and Finland is still out in the cold.
This should not be surprising though, The position, of Secretary General, is nothing more than a glorified arms broker with no command authority.
Here is the real problem, Finland and Sweden have stated their intention to break with their historical neutrality. And as we know, Türkiye is blocking the Finnish and Swedish ascension into NATO.
But why?
Very simply, Erdoğan is getting Russian gas at a discount and they are also getting transit fees from TurkStream. The Turkish oligarchy (at the top) is skimming (off the top) and selling the gas at (market rate)
What does the United States offer? Sanctions and threats.
And guess what? No one can pay the bills with that.
Unfortunately for Finland, they share a border with Russia and now in the eyes of Moscow, they have forfeited their neutrality along with Sweden. Not only do these countries (all of a sudden) find themselves on the primary target lists for nuclear strikes. These Nordic countries now find themselves assuming all the risks of nuclear war without Article 5 protection,―to boot. Many analysts are of the opinion that the United States would protect Finland and Sweden anyway. But why would they?
The United States now has two more countries for Russia to shoot at for free. And what’s even worse, NATO has no obligation to protect them. Or the enemies for free policy. Technically speaking, Finland can fight the Russians to the last Fin― just as Ukraine fought the Russians to the last Ukrainian. And knowing what I know about NATO, Jens will not lose one ounce of sleep over the matter.
It seems that the teenage Finnish PM is ready for war though. In this photo, she is wearing a black leather jacket with 3O8 NATO linked rounds as a decorative belt. I guess if your Russian general looking at this photo― it would seem her nation is metaphorically ready to go to war. And (that) is the wrong signal!
But, aside from the Social Democratic fashion show in Helsinki. The reality that this prime minister has condemned her country too is far more existential. Not only does she not have an agreement with NATO to defend her country. Finland now has to contend with a hostile Russia at their frontier, once more.
A country that has mobilized 1.5 million men and is producing 35 T-90s a day. To put this into perspective, at the Lima army tank plant in Ohio, where the M1 Abrams is produced. They are manufacturing just two Abrams tanks a month– always keeping in mind, these tanks are manufactured nowhere else in the world.
Not only has the United States fallen behind in the production of armor and artillery but it will be impossible to meet the demands of a European Battlefield. American military recruitment goals are in crisis. In FY22 the Army fell short of its 60,000 recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers.
In a survey taken by the Department of Defense. Only 9% of adults that are between 18-25 years of age even want to serve. And out of this demographic, only 22% are qualified to a basic standard.
In other words, both Finland and Sweden have hitched their wagons to the wrong horse. Not only will they bear the brunt of the imbalanced security agreement– that does not even exist. Finland and Sweden have given up their neutrality and now face a revitalized Russia that does not look at war as a Social Democratic fashion show.
And the biggest irony of all, all that Finland had to do to stop all of this was― nothing.
―Chris