http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...d83d2d63ed41b2
SWEDEN — a nation that hasn’t been in a fight for more than 200 years — has been issued a chilling warning by a top general: expect World War III “within a few years”.
“The global situation we are experiencing and which is also made clear by the strategic decision leads to the conclusion that we could be at war within a few years,” the statement reads. “For us in the army we have to, with all force we can muster, implement the political decisions.”
Major General Anders Brännström made the stark statement in a brochure being distributed among attendees of an armed forces conference next week.
It’s since sparked a storm of local controversy.
Is such a threat real? Is Europe strong enough to deter it?
Can Sweden defend itself?
General Brännström wrote that increasing tensions in the region had caused a shift in Sweden’s military strategic thinking. No longer is it gearing towards assisting international policing operations. It’s now focused on the “capability of armed battle against a qualified opponent”.
Sweden’s military was now optimising its armed forces for “a threshold effect against military attacks and ultimately defend Sweden”, he said.
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