Månad: augusti 2020

Armén försvarar hela rikets landområde och genomför alla uppgifter som försvarsmakten har.

Försvaret av hela riket utgår från den omfattande reserven som produceras genom värnplikten. Vid arméns åtta truppförband utbildas årligen ungefär 20 000 beväringar och kvinnor som fullgör frivillig militärtjänst. Vid repetitionsövningarna som upprätthåller reservens kunnande och kompetens utbildas årligen tusentals reservister.

Armén stöder det övriga samhället genom att årligen ge handräckning över 400 gånger till de andra myndigheterna.

Armén leder huvuddelen av försvarsmaktens internationella militära krishanteringsoperationer och utbildar samt utrustar de trupper som sänds till krishanteringsuppdrag.

Arméns krigstida trupper 180 000 soldater

Operativa trupper

• Krävande mobila stridsuppgifter över hela landet
• Välutrustade
• Insatsinriktade

Territoriella trupper

• Orsaka förluster för motståndaren, kontrollera områden (det förnyade stridssättet)
• Utrustning enligt uppgift
• De viktigaste områdena

Lokaltrupper

• Skyddar objekt, ställer upp trupper, samarbetar med olika myndigheter
• Lätt utrustning
• Finns över hela landet

Läs pressmeddelande

Utrikesminister Pekka Haavisto och Rysslands utrikesminister Sergej Lavrov förde ett telefonsamtal onsdagen den 12 augusti 2020. Ministrarna diskuterade förutom coronaläget också bland annat frågor i relationen mellan Europeiska unionen och Ryssland, konflikten i Ukraina, internationellt Arktissamarbete och frågor rörande internationell vapenkontroll. Ministrarna diskuterade också frågor som rör Finlands och Rysslands bilaterala relation och regionala frågor. […]

Vi konstaterade också att det finns möjligheter till samarbete då Rysslands ordförandeskap i Arktiska rådet sammanfaller med Finlands ordförandeskap i Barents regionråd. Att kombinera ekonomiskt tänkande och miljötänkande på vägen mot låga koldioxidutsläpp innebär också en möjlighet i utvecklandet av den arktiska regionen”, konstaterade utrikesminister Haavisto. Läs pressmeddelande

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday it was his country’s sovereign right to decide on its energy sources, as the U.S. worries a natural gas pipeline extension could increase Russia’s political and economic grip on Europe.

“Sanctions between partners are definitely the wrong way to go”, Maas said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“Ultimately, it remains our sovereign decision where we get our energy from. No country has the right to dictate Europe’s energy policy with threats. That won’t be successful,” Maas added. Läs artikel

Försvarsmaktens regionalbyråer ordnar uppbåd i enlighet med värnpliktslagen 17.8 – 15.12.2020. Covid-19-coronavirusläget ger upphov vissa förändringar i uppbådsarrangemangen.

Sammanlagt 444 uppbåd ordnas på totalt 245 orter. I år är det sammanlagda antalet uppbådspliktiga värnpliktiga män cirka 35 000. Uppbåd ordnas för alla män som fyller 18 i år, d.v.s. som är födda 2002, dem som förordnats att delta i årets uppbåd för ny granskning samt för dem som är under 30 år och som inte deltagit i tidigare uppbåd och som inte genomgått separat granskning. Läs artikel

Ifølge forskning ved det svenske Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut (FOI) er ikke de vesteuropesiske forsvarene vesentlig styrket siden 2017 selv om forsvarsutgiftene har økt.

– Det meste som har gitt utslag i tilgjengelige enheter og beredskap, er ting som amerikanerne har gjort. Der har det vært en påtagelig aktivitetsøkning, ifølge forskerne. Franskmennene er opptatt av Afrika, britene av Brexit og Tyskland sitter på gjerdet. Svært lite skjer, sier Robert Dalsjö ved FOI til Niclas Vent i det svenske Aftonbladet. Saken er gjengitt i en artikkel i VG.

Det forskere ved FOI har forsøkt å finne ut, er hva som faktisk kan brukes av stridsenheter og materiell. Her mener man det er det store hull hos de vesteuropeiske maktene.

– Omtrent bare halvparten av enhetene er i hovedsak oppfylt med personell og materiell. I løpet av en tremånedersperiode er bare halve krigsmaktene tilgjengelige, sier Krister Pallin, som leder forskningsprosjektet. Läs artikel

Malian security forces have fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse protesters who camped out at a square in the capital, renewing calls for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to step down.

Thousands of people had gathered at Bamako’s Independence Square on Tuesday after an opposition coalition resumed anti-government protests as talks mediated by regional leaders to resolve the weeks-long political crisis stalled. […]

Although dissatisfaction over Mali’s financial troubles, corruption and worsening security situation has been simmering for a while, the spark for the current crisis was a decision by the Constitutional Court in April to overturn the results of parliamentary polls for 31 seats, in a move that saw candidates with Keita’s party get re-elected. […]

The West African ECOWAS bloc stepped in last month to mediate, with its heads of government suggesting the formation of a new unity government to end the crisis while sticking by Keita.

But the June 5 Movement – a disparate alliance of political, social and civil-society groups – has repeatedly rejected the proposals, sticking to its core demand for Keita’s departure. Läs artikel

Tens of thousands of Malians have taken to the streets in recent months, in protests fueled by pervasive corruption, extreme poverty, and protracted conflict. The unrest risks further destabilizing a region already battling an alarming rise in violent extremism. What’s next for the West African country? […]

An opposition coalition known as the June 5 Movement (M5-RFP), led by prominent cleric Mahmoud Dicko, is calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in the wake of the country’s April parliamentary elections. The protests were spurred by a Constitutional Court decision to overturn some of the election results, which the opposition says unfairly helped members of Keita’s party remain in office. […]

France. Mali’s former colonial ruler has been drawn deep into the conflict there. The Malian government requested help from Paris in 2013, and a mission the French military initially expected to only last a few weeks has now become what some analysts call France’s “forever war.” Operation Barkhane, as the counterterrorism effort is known, costs more than $1 billion annually, involves almost five thousand French troops, and has resulted in the deaths of forty-four French personnel since 2013. Protesters have also expressed frustration at the lack of progress foreign forces have made, with some calling for French personnel to withdraw. Läs artikel

– De neste fire månedene vil USA fortsette å redusere styrkebidraget i Afghanistan basert på forholdene i landet, opplyser forsvarsdepartementet.

Pentagon sier målet er færre enn 5.000 soldater innen utgangen av november, men legger til at tilstedeværelsen baserer seg på evnen til å gjennomføre oppdrag og ikke antall soldater.

– Som alltid er slike nedtrappinger avhengig av utviklingen i landet og blir gjort etter konsultasjoner med Kongressen og i direkte samarbeid med våre allierte i Nato, opplyses det fra Pentagon.

Kunngjøringen fra forsvarsdepartementet var en ytterlige klargjøring av forsvarsminister Mark Espers uttalelse i helgen. Da sa han at en slik styrkereduksjon først kunne skje når de var sikre på at USA «ikke trues av terrorister som kommer fra Afghanistan».Läs artikel

A shift is taking place in global military thinking. NATO, arguably the most successful military alliance in history, is slowly but steadily edging toward casting China as an outright military competitor. Previously, the collective West avoided involving NATO in the context of the rising China. […]

Military training missions have been a common element of NATO involvement in the Middle East. The alliance also responds to terrorism, cyber-threats, and disinformation. Moreover, it enjoys special partnerships (consultative in nature) with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, and Mongolia.

However, China’s military and economic rise, ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and growing appetite in the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the last decade have brought it into sharp opposition with the US. The latter now sees NATO playing a bigger role in Eurasian affairs, which means taking a tougher stance toward Beijing through the development of a new vision for its outdated Euro-Atlantic-centric model. […]

Though that shift in thinking is taking place within NATO, the alliance remains attached to its vision and wishes to avoid casting China as an outright military enemy. It leaves open the possibility for cooperation, as statements by NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg attest. In recent interviews, Stoltenberg said, “[NATO] does not see China as the new enemy,” “This is not about moving NATO into the South China Sea,” and “It’s about taking into account that China is coming closer to us—in the Arctic, in Africa, investing heavily in our infrastructure in Europe, in cyberspace.” Läs artikel

On July 29, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced new changes to U.S. basing posture in Europe that would result in more than 10,000 troops returning to the United States from bases in Germany, followed by a relocation of military personnel to Poland and Mons, Belgium. While most of the media attention has focused on the redeployment of forces from Europe back to the United States, a new strategic decision was made by the U.S. that will result in an increased military presence in NATO’s new front yard: the Black Sea.

During his Pentagon press conference, Esper announced that a U.S. Stryker brigade would be sent to the Black Sea in what will be the first significant U.S. military ground forces deployment to the region. The Black Sea has been the epicenter of Russia’s revisionist ambitions since its 2008 war with Georgia and its 2014 invasion and occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea and invasion of Donbass. To highlight the changes in U.S. defense posture in the Black Sea, Esper described the move in the following strategic terms:

“Look at what we’re moving. What we’re doing is … we’re moving forces out of central Europe — Germany, where they had been since the Cold War, since I first traveled there in the early 1980s, and we’re now moving — we’re following, in many ways, the boundary east, where our newest allies are. So into the Black Sea region … That’s why it’s a strategic laydown that enhances deterrence, strengthens the allies, reassures them.” Läs artikel