Opposition want U.S. bases removed
Stockholm News
May 25, 2010
A Red-Green Government would require the U.S. to withdraw all its military bases around the world, according to the opposition parties´ joint paper on Sweden´s foreign relations. This has sparked sharp criticism both from experts and from the centre-right coalition.
“It would lead to a rearmament of offensive weapons,” says a security policy analyst to news agency TT.
“It’s a headless policy, classical anti-American leftist policy which would be impossible in a government position”, says Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Moderate politician, to daily Svenska Dagbladet.
For the social democrats, it is a big change in direction.
The Social Democratic government under PM Göran Persson declared, in the election year 2006, that: “The Government considers it essential to develop the transatlantic link, and Sweden’s cooperation with the United States”.
But a government led by the current Social Democratic leader Mona Sahlin, would have a different policy: “A Red-Green government will demand that the U.S. dismantle its nuclear weapons and military bases outside its borders”.
“It’s a Swedish stand against the United States. They should dismantle all bases outside its borders,” says Hans Linde, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Left Party.
This would destabilize the security situation in the Middle East as well as Asia, according to Frederick Lindvall, who is security policy analyst at the Defence Research Agency (FOI).
“Indeed, it would update the need for own nuclear weapons in countries such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Also in the Middle East the need of offensive weapons would increase,” he says, to news agency TT.
The Alliance, the coalition of centre-right parties, reacts sharply to the Red-Green proposal. Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is very surprised that the Social Democrats have agreed to these formulations concerning U.S. military bases.
“We would get have problems both in our relations with the U.S. and to countries seeking their help. The Foreign Service would have to devote significant time to injury minimization of such an anti-American foreign policy.” …
