Return of the Vikings

Investor's Business Daily reports on two historically neutral Nordic countries warming to NATO:

Having seen signs of growing trouble for a long time, Finland and
officially neutral Sweden are forging closer ties with NATO.
Their first step
came in 1994, when both countries (and Russia) joined NATO's Partnership for
Peace. They moved further this April 15 when both took a first step toward
joining NATO by taking part in its Response Force this year.
The force, set
up by Donald Rumsfeld in 2002, was a farsighted back door into the alliance,
National Review reports, and shows that Sweden and Finland recognize the growing
menace from the East.

But who are they afraid of in their frozen fortresses? Guess:

It says something about post-communist Russia that two nations that
once felt safe enough to avoid NATO membership during the Cold War no longer
feel safe from today's Russia.

Putin seems to be making dangerous enemies.