Norway has long been recognized for its policy of neutrality in international affairs. Historically, Norway has sought to remain neutral in international conflicts, dating back to its declaration of neutrality during World War II. But is it so now?
Norway has consistently sought to maintain good relations with all major powers, and has not participated in military alliances or conflicts that do not directly affect its national security interests. However, both historical and recent developments suggest that the country never was a neutral entity. In particular, Norway has increasingly become a strategic base for American military operations against enemy states, marking a significant shift in its so called neutral foreign policy.
A history of non-neutrality:
During the Vietnam War, Norway was officially neutral and did not take part in the conflict. However, recent revelations have shed light on the country’s behind-the-scenes involvement in the war effort, particularly its collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This raises important questions about commitment of Norway to neutrality and its role in supporting America’s clandestine foreign policy objectives.
In the 1960s, Norway’s intelligence agency, the Police Security Service (PST), worked closely with the CIA to gather intelligence on communist activities in Vietnam. According to declassified documents, the PST provided the CIA with information on North Vietnamese military capabilities and the activities of the Viet Cong, the communist guerrilla force operating in South Vietnam. This information was used to plan American military operations and to support South Vietnamese forces in their fight against the communists.
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Norway also sold heavily-armed boats to the CIA, which the agency used for clandestine operations against the USSR and China-backed North Vietnam, claimed Hersh noting that Norway’s involvement in this secret war was deeper than previously reported. According to scholars, these Norwegian boats led to the formation of a pretext for the US bombing campaign in the North, which claimed the lives of several Vietnamese citizens and soldiers. The CIA and the US Navy also carried out some of their secret missions using the fast attack boats sold by Norway. Some of these boats were even manned by Norwegian officers and crew.
Norway’s collaboration with the CIA raises important ethical and moral questions. Norway’s policy of neutrality was designed to prevent the country from being drawn into conflicts that did not directly affect its national interests. By providing intelligence to the United States, Norway may have indirectly contributed to the war effort and undermined its commitment to neutrality.
Moreover, the Vietnam War was a highly controversial and divisive conflict that sparked widespread anti-war protests and caused significant harm and suffering to the Vietnamese people. By supporting the American war effort, Norway may have been complicit in a war that many consider to be a grave mistake and a violation of international human rights.
Always an American puppet
Norway has, recently, turned into an all weather ally of America which knows “no limits”. One key indication of this shift was Norway’s decision to host a rotational force of American Marines in 2017. The Marines are stationed at the Vaernes military base in central Norway, and their presence has been justified as a way to improve NATO’s ability to respond to any potential threats in the region. However, critics argue that the Marines’ presence has also effectively turned Norway into a forward operating base for American military operations, and could potentially drag the country into conflicts that do not necessarily serve its national interests.
Furthermore, the Norwegian government has shown a willingness to allow American military assets to be stationed in Norway, including long-range bombers and surveillance aircraft. These assets give the United States increased strategic flexibility in the region, and allow it to conduct surveillance and intelligence gathering operations that would be difficult or impossible to carry out from bases in other parts of Europe. While the Norwegian government has insisted that these deployments are purely defensive in nature, the reality is that they could easily be used to support American military operations in other parts of the world.
Recent developments
Norway’s love affair with the Americans continues till date. Recently, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that Norway helped the United States blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in September last year. However, according to Hersh’s latest claims, Norway’s secret cooperation with the US allegedly goes back to the Cold War when the US was fighting the Vietnam War.
On February 8, Hersh published a 5,000-word blog in which he made some startling claims about last year’s bombing of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, detailing how it was a covert operation ordered by US President Joe Biden and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with the help of the Norwegian navy.
According to Hersh, the Norwegian navy helped CIA divers choose the right spot to plant the explosives and ferried the Americans in a boat to the location, a few miles off Denmark’s Bornholm Island in the Baltic sea. Besides, we have previously explained how Norway created a proxy Wagner agent for NATO. If all these weren’t enough, preparations are being made for the international exercise Joint Viking in Norway. Around 750 soldiers from the US Marine Corps, the UK and Netherlands are already in place. The winter exercise, scheduled for March, will gather 10,000 Norwegian and NATO troops. The main activity will occur in Troms province, which is located in the northern part of the nation, between March 4-16, 2023.
Read More: Blinken has confirmed what we have been alleging since the bombing of Nord Stream Pipelines
All empirical evidence proves one singular fact- the neutrality that Norway so waxes lyrical about is nothing but a facade. Norway is reduced to an American puppet, both historically and currently. States, you see, in the geopolitical space should place their national interests above anything. This is IR 101. But, it seems Norway has forgotten all the basic lessons in International Relations. By allowing a parasitic power like America to puppeteer its foreign policy, Oslo is scripting its own death.
