Partiet Ambition Sverige: The interests of the Kingdom do not coincide with those of the USA
President Donald Trump's speech at the UN was astonishing in many ways. With a clarity of language rarely heard from a politician, he reinforced a conflict that affects Europe and Sweden deeply. It is time to ask what the US has done to Sweden.
By: Ulf Gabrielsson, spokesperson for defence and security policy for Ambition Sverige (A).Previously published on Elsa Widdings' blog.
An economic disaster
Since the explosion of Nord Stream 1 and 2, Europe's economy has been plagued by recession. There are many indications that the US was involved. Joe Biden was clear when he said:
”If Russia goes into Ukraine, there will be no Nord Stream 2.”
Six months after Russia entered Ukraine, the gas pipelines were blown up in September 2022. The detonations were so powerful that they were recorded by seismological stations around the Baltic Sea as a minor earthquake.
The official explanation, that five men and a woman from Ukraine, on a rented sailboat, carried out the blast, seems absurd. Yet we in Europe have bought this explanation without further ado.
One wonders whether our leaders are acting in ignorance or whether they are steadfastly loyal to a United States that now sells natural gas to Europe at a price several times higher than Russian gas. The result is a weakening of Europe's industrial competitiveness due to sky-high energy prices.
The trade war against Europe
The US has also launched a trade war against Europe with high tariffs on European goods, further destroying one of our most important export markets. President Trump is encouraging companies to move factories to the US and with it, ”USA is open for business,” he reinforces the divisions between us.
With a nationalist agenda, President Trump's willingness to protect his own country is honourable, but it is strange that European leaders accept this without resistance. How can the US act in a way that harms its main ally in this way?
US conflicts of interest
Since the early 2000s, the United States has taken a keen interest in Ukraine, with involvement in the Maidan revolution and subsequent regime change. During the civil war, which started in 2014, the US has helped build Ukraine's military into one of the most powerful in Europe.
The strategy against Russia has been to use sanctions and a protracted war to destabilise and divide the country in order to access its natural resources.
But now, as President Trump seems to realise the failure of this strategy, he is changing tactics and shifting the costs of the conflict to the EU.
In an agreement between the EU and the US, signed by Ursula von der Leyen, EU countries commit to buy €750 billion worth of US weapons and also LNG (Liquefied Natural GasThis is yet another reminder of how disastrous the US behaviour is for Europe and will put future generations in debt.
A dangerous future
President Trump makes the astonishing observation that European leaders, who seem convinced of Ukraine's victory, no longer need US support. First the US creates the conflict and then passes the buck to Europe. Europe's leaders have themselves helped build the myth that Ukraine can emerge victorious from its conflict with Russia by constantly distorting the truth and talking about Ukraine's coming victory.
It is Europe and Sweden that will pay a heavy price for this capitulation to President Trump and the US agenda. A continuation of the conflict benefits no one and only risks exacerbating the situation with further loss of life on the Ukrainian battlefield. The EU and NATO have once again proven to be a disaster for Europe and Sweden.
An alliance in crisis
Now President Trump is also demanding that we do not buy cheap Russian oil from third countries. He has not succeeded in destroying Russia, but he is well on his way to destroying Europe. By imposing a war we didn't cause, making it harder for us to buy cheap energy and imposing high tariffs on our exports, he is undermining our economic stability.
Meanwhile, President Trump is trying to normalise US relations with Russia, while the EU and Sweden continue to isolate themselves and wage an unforgiving and provocative war of words against Russia. This is creating a deep rift between our countries that will be very difficult to bridge. With the current regimes in Europe, it seems almost impossible.
Russia is one of our closest neighbours and will not go away no matter how much our leaders would like to see this happen.
It is now high time for our politicians to realise that Sweden's interests do not coincide with those of the United States. Their interests do not benefit our country and therefore we must never let ourselves be ruled by external powers.