Former PM Carl Bildt handed task of overhauling Sweden’s intelligence operations

THE former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt has been handed a new role as a special investigator.

It was announced by the government in Stockholm that the politician who held office from 1991 to 1994 was going to be overseeing an overhaul of Sweden’s intelligence operations.

As reported this Sunday, October 29, by aftonbladet.se, the current defence Minister Pål Jonson, along with Mikael Oscarsson and Anna Starbrink – who are the other government parties’ defence policy spokespersons – wrote a joint article in Svenska Dagbladet.

‘The deteriorating global situation places greater demands on a good situational picture of the threats and risks that Sweden is facing’, the article said.

It continued: ‘The aim is to assess, based on the security policy situation, what intelligence needs exist with the government, authorities, and other actors relevant to Sweden’s security and how these needs can be met’.

When was the last intelligence review carried out?

The last review was done in the late 1990s. Since then, the security situation has deteriorated significantly, stated the government representatives in their article.

Its authors stated that in order to be able to identify and act against serious threats early, a well-functioning intelligence operation was needed.

They explained: ‘The review that is now being carried out will, among other things, focus on describing the security policy and technical development in order to be able to define the needs for intelligence that exist’.

‘It is also about who should be the recipients and what coordination and ability to compile and analyse intelligence is needed to meet the needs’, they added.

What is Sweden’s current terror threat level?

On August 17, Sweden raised its terror threat level to four for the first time since the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015. Between November 18, 2015, and March 2, 2016, the threat was set at ‘high’.

Speaking during a press conference at the time, Charlotte von Essen the chief of Säpo, Sweden’s Security Police said: ‘Today I have made the decision to raise the terror threat level from an elevated to a high threat. We are going from a three to a four on a five-point scale’.

A spate of Koran burnings saw Sweden become the target of unwanted threats from Muslims, including Al Qaeda. Salwan Momika, the Iraqi nation who carried out several of those acts, will now be deported from Sweden, although his lawyer reported that they intend to appeal this decision.