NATO - what does the future hold?

[much ado]

Does it go to the highest payer?

[Volkonski]

https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... ry-signal/

This week, Turkey’s parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of Stockholm’s membership in the defense alliance. Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary, the only other remaining holdout, posted today on the social media site X that he was also in favor.

“I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO-membership of #Sweden,” Orban wrote, describing a phone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and conclude the #ratification at the first possible opportunity.”

[John Thomas8]

[RTH10260]

I guess the US military industrial complex will have a word in such a descision. They could be loosing some well healed customers, those who under pressure will decide to ramp up their own R&D and production.

[Volkonski]

Hungary’s Parliament Approves Sweden’s NATO Bid After Stalling
Budapest had been the final obstacle to the Nordic country’s joining the alliance, which has been trying to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/worl ... 595e2e6e66

The measure passed after a vote of 188 for and only 6 against in the 199-member Parliament, which is dominated by legislators from the governing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

On Friday, after his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, made a visit to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, Mr. Orban declared the end of a monthslong spat with Sweden over its membership of NATO.

Hungary had been stalling for 19 months on ratifying Sweden’s admission, a delay that had puzzled and exasperated the United States and other members of the alliance, raising questions about Hungary’s reliability as a member of the alliance.

The parliamentary vote on Monday followed a decision by Sweden to provide Hungary with four Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to add to the 14 that the Hungarian Air Force already uses. Stockholm also promised that Saab, which manufactures the warplanes, would open an A.I. research center in Hungary.

Hungary, which had repeatedly promised not to be the last holdout, became the final obstacle to Swedish entry into NATO after the Turkish Parliament voted on Jan. 23 to approve membership.

Mr. Orban, who has maintained cordial relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia despite the war in Ukraine, has a long record of using his country’s veto power over key decisions in Europe to try to extract money or other rewards. That pattern was on display during not only his foot-dragging over Sweden’s NATO membership but also his opposition to a European Union financial package for Ukraine worth $54 billion.

Mr. Orban relented this month on approving E.U. aid for Ukraine, a retreat that raised hopes he would quickly order his Fidesz party to hold a vote in Parliament on Sweden. Mr. Orban had assured the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Jan. 24 that Hungary would ratify Sweden’s entry “at the first possible opportunity.”

[John Thomas8]

[MN-Skeptic]

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1

Breaking:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweden officially joins NATO after completing its accession process, ending decades of post-WWII neutrality.

[Volkonski]

Good. Now if Russia gives NATO any trouble NATO can sic Lisbeth Salander on them.

[AndyinPA]

[Suranis]

Putin.jpg (191.88 KiB) Viewed 134 times

[Volkonski]

This US state is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/29/us/nato- ... index.html

Sweden became the newest member of NATO earlier this month, joining 31 nations in the security alliance, including the United States. Well, make that 49 of the 50 United States.

Because in a quirk of geography and history, Hawaii is not technically covered by the NATO pact.

If a foreign power attacked Hawaii – say the US Navy’s base at Pearl Harbor or the headquarters of the Indo-Pacific Command northwest of Honolulu – the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would not be obligated to rise to the Aloha State’s defense.

“It’s the weirdest thing,” says David Santoro, president of the Pacific Forum think tank in Honolulu, who added that even most Hawaii residents have no idea their state is technically adrift of the alliance.

“People tend to assume Hawaii is part of the US and therefore it’s covered by NATO,” he says.

But, he concedes, the tip-off is in the alliance’s name – North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Hawaii is, of course, in the Pacific, and unlike California, Colorado or Alaska, the 50th state is not part of the continental US that reaches the North Atlantic Ocean on its eastern shores.

“The argument for not including Hawaii is simply that it’s not part of North America,” Santoro says.

The exception is spelled out in the Washington Treaty, the document that established NATO in 1949, a decade before Hawaii became a state.

While Article 5 of the treaty provides for collective self-defense in the event of a military attack on any member state, Article 6 limits the geographic scope of that.

“An armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America,” Article 6 says. It also says any island territories must be in the North Atlantic, north of the Tropic of Cancer.

A US State Department spokesperson confirmed that Hawaii is not covered by Article 5, but said Article 4, which says members will consult when “the territorial integrity, political independence or security” of any member is threatened, should cover any situation that could affect the 50th state.

The spokesperson also said any treaty amendment to include Hawaii would be unlikely to gain consensus because other members have territories outside of the boundaries set in Article 5.

For instance, NATO did not join founding member the United Kingdom’s 1982 war with Argentina after Argentine troops invaded the Falkland Islands, a disputed British territory in the South Atlantic.