Why I Won’t Vote to Add Sweden and Finland to NATO
The National InterestAug 01, 2022
The Facts
On Tues., Pres. Biden signed ratification documents formally endorsing Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO.
This comes a week after the Senate ratified it by 95 to 1, far exceeding the two-thirds majority required and showing bipartisan support for this historic move from the Nordic countries following the war in Ukraine.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Unless European countries take on more responsibility within the alliance, a NATO expansion - which means more spending, more troops, and more military hardware in Europe - will make the US even more vulnerable. With increased aggression from China, along with a potential war with Russia, the US is at risk of going to war with both countries. America needs to reevaluate its security priorities.
Pro-establishment narrative
This approval sends a strong signal to authoritarian leaders that free democracies are willing to fight them to protect their values. More than that, it also strengthens the alliance as Finland and Sweden have powerful militaries and are committed to the 2% GDP defense spending target.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that NATO will have at least 32 member countries by December 31, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
