Fake Threats Lead to Real Military Budget Hikes in Sweden
© Photo: PixabayEurope12:18 09.01.2017Get short URL554558Of late,
US hawks have been trying to convince the world that Russia tampered with
the US presidential election using cyberattacks. In Sweden, where
Russophobia has become part and parcel of the political parlance, this
message has struck a note of sympathy. © Sputnik/ Sergey GuneevPipeline
Paranoia: Swedes Skittish Over Security Aspects of Nord Stream 2During the
annual national conference People and Defense, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan
Löfven painted a morbid picture of an increasingly dark security situation
in the world, highlighting nuclear threats, cyber threats and military
threats, venturing that the upcoming Swedish election may be exposed to the
same unsolicited influence that the US had allegedly experienced last fall.
Although Löfven did not mention Russia specifically, the message was
rendered crystal clear by allusions to the US election, where Hillary
Clinton's painful loss is still being attributed to Russian "interference."
Stefan Löfven, who previously voiced his total support for Hillary Clinton,
stated that the American election campaign was obviously influenced by data
theft and fake news. "There is nothing that guarantees that the future
Swedish elections will be protected accordingly," Löfven said, as quoted by
Finnish daily Hufvudstadsbladet. According to Löfven, there is the same risk
for France and Germany. © Sputnik/ Sergey GuneevSweden Backtracks on Baltic
Gas Project For Fear of Russian 'Bugs'At a subsequent press conference,
Stefan Löfven was asked how Sweden would react if Russia tried to influence
the outcome of the Swedish election. It seems that the Swedish public has
taken fancy of the idea of seeing "Moscow's hand" every time things are not
going the expected way. This delusion is reinstated through competent
bodies. In a recent report by Sweden's National Defense Radio Establishment
(FRA), Russia was identified as the main culprit behind the disinformation
campaign and the dissemination of fake news. According to FRA, "foreign
powers" performed over 100,000 cyberattacks against Sweden last year alone,
Swedish national broadcaster SVT reported. According to Stefan Löfven,
Sweden needs a "digital rearmament" to reduce vulnerability and raise the
awareness of misinformation. Information security is therefore only a part
of the national security strategy Löfven and the Swedish government
announced on Sunday. © Flickr/ Magnus JohanssonSweden Poised to Join NATO's
Stratcom in Psychological Defense Strategy Against RussiaEven though Löfven
summarized the Russian development as "provocation," "disinformation" and
"military aggression," he acknowledged the need for a closer dialogue to
reduce tensions. "It's unwise to first increase tensions and then seek
enhanced protection in the form of a NATO membership. It is best to ensure
that the tension does not increase at all," Löfven said, as quoted by
Swedish Radio. After decades of disarmament, Swedish politicians have now
made a U-turn and re-assessed developments abroad. Both left-wing and
right-wing parties agreed that the security situation has deteriorated.
Today, the discussion is instead focused on how much extra funding should be
allocated to the Swedish defense. The recent "wish list" by the Swedish
Armed Forces alone is estimated at 400 billion SEK (over $44bln), Swedish
daily Dagens Nyheter reported in December.
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
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