The secret war against Sweden
| Date | October 27, 1981 - 1988 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sweden |
| Perpetrators | NATO |
| Exposed by | Ola Tunander |
| Interest of | Lars Borgnäs |
During the 1980s a large number of submarines were spotted in Swedish territorial waters. While the Soviet Union was blamed, the long series of highly visible incidents was in reality part of a NATO black operation in collaboration with sections of the Swedish military high command, to change public opinion in Sweden and embarrass the government under Olof Palme, which was not informed.
Ola Tunander attributes the majority of these incursions to be of NATO origin:[1][2]
Following the stranding of a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine in 1981 on the Swedish archipelago, a series of massive submarine intrusions took place within Swedish waters. However, the evidence for these appears to have been manipulated or simply invented. Classified documents and interviews point to covert Western, rather than Soviet activity. This is backed up by former US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who stated that Western "testing" operations were carried out regularly in Swedish waters with Swedish cooperation. Royal Navy submarine captains have also admitted to top-secret operations.
Related Quotations
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Schlesinger | “[Former United States Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger] said 'The [Swedish] Military was planning for us to come as soon as possible'. He obviously did not speak about all Swedish politicians or all Swedish military officers, but rather about a fundamental divide between a few relevant political leaders with the ambition of keeping Swedish neutrality, and some senior military officers that were directly linked up to the U.S. agencies, officers that identified themselves with the United States and with U.S. military priorities: They planned for the U.S. military forces to come to Sweden 'as soon as possible'” | Ola Tunander James Schlesinger | 1993 |
| John Vessey | “When it comes to Sweden, there was only one rule: Nothing on paper.” | John Vessey John W Vessey Jr. | 1989 |
The Official Culprit
| Name |
|---|
| Soviet Russia |
References
- ↑ Ola Tunander. "Some Remarks on the US/UK Submarine Deception In Swedish Waters in the 1980s" (PDF). International Peace Research Institute, Oslo. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
- ↑ Ola Tunander (24 September 2004). The secret war against Sweden: US and British submarine deception in the 1980s. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-7146-5322-8. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
