As Magnus Nordenman summarizes in his piece on NATOSource, there could be any number of reasons why President Obama is visiting Sweden this week.
In September 2011, Nordenman and Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon Wilson called then for President Obama to agree to meet his Nordic counterparts as a group. In this chapter “The Nordic-Baltic Region as a Global Partner of the United States,” from the Atlantic Council report Nordic-Baltic Security in the 21st Century: The Regional Agenda and the Global Role, the authors explain why President Obama is meeting with the five leaders of the Nordic nations during his stop in Stockholm on September 4, following his August 30 meeting with the three Baltic presidents in Washington, DC.
To help provide context on the roles of Sweden and the other Nordic countries in the transatlantic partnership, Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon Wilson speaks about the choice of Sweden and the trip’s probable agenda in this interview.