Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen
chevron-rightnext
Democratic US Senator Tammy Duckworth photographed at a support demonstration for Ukraine in Stockholm.
1 / 2Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT
Only days seem to remain until Sweden’s NATO application gets the green light. Tammy Duckworth, war veteran and US senator, predicts that Sweden will quickly assume a leadership role within the defense alliance.
At the same time, she advises Swedish colleagues not to listen to ex-president Donald Trump.
– He only speaks to his voter base. He is facing several trials and is trying to distract from his problems, she told TT about Trump’s suggestion that he considered encouraging Russia to attack NATO countries that are not investing enough in their defense.
– Besides, it doesn’t really matter what Donald Trump says, because the US Senate, House of Representatives and government support NATO.
“Now is the time”
Democrat Duckworth represents Illinois in the Senate and is a member of the powerful defense and foreign affairs committees. Now the war veteran, whose Blackhawk helicopter was shot down during the Iraq war, is on Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm after speaking at a support demonstration for Ukraine. During an intensive visit to Sweden, she has also met representatives of the energy and defense industries as well as Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M).
– I wanted to emphasize our strong support for Sweden becoming part of NATO and thank you for making the decisive decision, she says.
It was Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine that led Sweden to apply to become a NATO member in 2022. But the process has been delayed by first Turkey’s and then Hungary’s reluctance to give the green light. At the same time as Duckworth traveled to Sweden, other senators went to Budapest.
– We spread out across Europe to underline how important it is that NATO gets Sweden as a member – and to emphasize to Hungary that the time is now, she smiles.
Duckworth had not had time to fly home before the news came that the Hungarian parliament will vote on Sweden’s application on Monday.
Can’t “goof off”
In Tammy Duckworth’s eyes, the Ukraine war is proof that NATO stands up for international law, even for non-members.
– Big countries can’t just wallow in themselves less. That view is widespread, there is strong support for Ukraine within NATO.
The question is whether the attitude remains if the isolationist Republican Trump wins the presidential election this autumn. Support for Ukraine has cooled significantly in some Republican circles in the United States. Protracted negotiations were required before the Senate last week, certainly by a large majority, could vote through a delayed aid package.
Still, Duckworth is positive. She refers to the principle of separation of powers in the United States, that the president is only one of three “pillars” and that he must have the support of Congress for decisive decisions.
– The United States is not a monarchy, no matter how much Donald Trump wants it.
FACT Senator Tammy Duckworth
Democrat, political scientist and war veteran Tammy Duckworth has represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate since 2017. Before that, she served four years in the House of Representatives and before that she was the assistant secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
She sits on the defense and foreign affairs committees and also works with issues related to renewable energy and small businesses. Appeared in 2020 in the speculation about who Joe Biden would choose as the vice presidential candidate.
Duckworth then lost her legs during the war in Iraq and became the first disabled woman to be elected to Congress. In 2018, she became the first sitting senator to give birth, prompting the House to fast-track a rule change allowing infants to be brought into the Senate and nursed there.
Source: Duckworth’s website and others
Read more