Swedish ‘security adviser’ baffles nation

Who is Nils Bildt?

Swedes were scratching their heads over the weekend after their nation was once again cited as an example of immigration gone wrong — this time by a supposed Swedish security adviser who is unknown by that country’s security experts.

In a segment on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly spoke with two Swedish nationals about allegations Sweden had become a more dangerous place in recent years because of immigration.

One guest, Swedish journalist Anne- Sofie Naslund of t he Expressen newspaper, pushed back against O’Reilly’s comments, suggesting her country was far safer than it was being presented.

However, the next guest disagreed.

Bildt, billed as a “Swedish defence and national security adviser” by Fox News, told O’Reilly Naslund was “rather incorrect” and there had been big problems with integrating immigrants into Swedish society.

It was only a brief segment, but it quickly caused controversy back in Sweden.

The Dagens Nyheter newspaper reported neither the Swedish armed forces nor the foreign ministry had heard of Bildt. Johan Wiktorin, a fellow at the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences, took to Twitter to suggest he had not heard of Bildt either.

On Twitter, a number of Swedes mocked Fox News’ decision to book Bildt.

But who is Bildt? Dagens Nyheter reported Bildt had in fact emigrated from Sweden in 1994 and he was originally named Nils Tolling.

The newspaper also reported Bildt had been convicted of a violent offence while living in Virginia and was given a one- year prison sentence in 2014.

Bildt is listed as one of the founding partners of Modus World LLC. The company, which says it is based in Washington, D. C., Brussels and Tokyo, offers a variety of consulting services, including the “operations and management of possible kidnap and ransom situations,” according to its website.

Reached via email, Bildt initially did not dispute anything in the Dagens Nyheter report, though he noted he had not chosen the title he was given by Fox News. Later, he followed up to dispute the claim he had served time in prison.

“Had I spent a year in prison, I would t hink I would remember it,” he said.

During a rally in Florida a little more than a week ago, President Donald Trump confused experts by referring to “what’s happening” in Sweden. He later clarified he had been referring to a segment with filmmaker Ami Horowitz t hat had aired on Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight.

A film by Horowitz suggests a link between refugees and increased crime rates in Sweden, but Swedish experts say he oversimplified the problem and two policemen interviewed by the filmmaker said they were misrepresented by him.