I was at a meeting in Stockholm 15 years ago with a group of members of parliament from NATO member countries and their Swedish counterparts. We were there to discuss a range of issues, including Sweden’s participation in NATO operations. Our Swedish hosts took us by boat to a beautiful island for dinner, where a member of the NATO delegation asked a Swedish member of parliament why they did not simply join NATO given the existing close level of partnership. She said that the time was not right given the security environment, and then turned to me (as the native English speaker) to ask, “What’s the expression in English?” — pointing to the boat that brought us to dinner. “Don’t rock the boat,” I replied.
Read Full Article »
