WASHINGTON — Democrats may argue over whether places like Denmark and Norway are model societies. President Barack Obama is sure.
Apparently well beyond concerns about being branded a socialist, Obama on Friday celebrated the five Nordic nations as examples of reliability, equality, generosity, responsibility, even personal happiness.
As he welcomed the Nordic leaders to the White House, he owned up to thinking perhaps the small havens of social liberalism should take the reins every now and then.
He joked: "Why don't we just put all these small countries in charge for a while?"
The remark in some ways encapsulated a White House summit with the leaders of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark. The discussions covered a slate of issues weighing heavily on the region — including concerns about Russian aggression, managing refugee flows in Europe and fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — but little disagreement among nations that largely see eye-to-eye.
From the State Dining Room, Obama said the leaders spoke about augmenting special operations forces fighting IS in the Middle East. He also hailed Denmark for almost doubling its troop commitment toward the multinational forces assisting Afghanistan.
Three of the five nations are NATO members, including Denmark and Norway, which each have contributed nearly as many troops on the ground in Iraq as Germany. Sweden and Finland are neutral but are participating in the U.S.-led campaign against IS and are, as Obama asserted, helping ensure that sanctions on nearby Russia stay in place until it stops occupying and destabilizing parts of Ukraine.
The White House cast the rare multilateral summit as something of a diplomatic walk in the park compared to recent, more contentious sit-downs in the Middle East, or even in Europe. Where Obama often is tasked with nudging reluctant partners to contribute more to international partnerships, the Nordic leaders, he said, are willing partners who "punch above their weight."
