Why is Norway is expanding its armed forces now?

The Norwegian government posted this brief video specifically for the benefit of English-speaking audiences a few weeks ago. The YouTube comments are turned off, but the description reads as follows,

“We asked the question: Why do we need the armed forces and a military? In the end what do we, as a nation, want to happen? This is the answer.”

The video is brief and well-produced. I’ll provide that referenced answer after the jump just in case anyone will consider it a spoiler for me to do otherwise.

So, this is the purported answer: The Norwegian Armed Forces year-long 2018 expansion of its air, land, submarine, and every other sort of military capability is pithily explained away as merely “wanting to keep the peace”. I interpret that as deterrence as well as preparedness in the event of the need for national defense.

Who is Norway concerned about deterring, and possibly defending the nation against? I’m not sure. Scandinavian countries, with the possible exception of Finland, are not known for their military spending and defense policy emphasis.

Sidney Blumenthal is my least-favorite Clinton political family operative, e.g. Who is Sidney Blumenthal and why was Hillary Clinton contacting him via private email? by Ellie Kesselman on Quora. Regardless of my antipathy for the father, the son, Max, raises a real concern that cannot be readily ignored. I worry about this a lot. I hope that the Scandinavian countries will remain neutral as they have been since World War 2 and for some, prior to that.

.@GeorgeSzamuely: “The danger is that in this atmosphere of anti-Russian hysteria such channels for dialogue may not be kept open. As a result, crises could escalate beyond the point at which either side could back down without losing face.” https://t.co/PHaICszX8Y

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) December 14, 2018