Under det kalla kriget var vrlden uppdelad mellan tv stora maktblock. Hotet mot Sverige kom frn st och stdet frn Vst. I USA: s strvanden att skydda allierade inom Nato betraktades Sverige som en strategiskt viktig aktr i norra Europa. I denna bok undersks Sveriges roll i det amerikanska skerhetstnkandet under perioden 1961-1968. Vilka ambitioner hade USA i frhllande till Sverige och hur genomfrdes denna politik? Analyser av policydokument och ambassadrapportering, varvas med bedmningar av amerikanskt agerande i samband med viktiga hndelser - den finlndska notkrisen, spionfallet Stig Wennerstrm, den svenska Vietnamkritiken och leveransproblemen med luftvrnsroboten Redeye. Avslutningsvis konstateras att Sverige hade tre roller i det amerikanska skerhetstnkandet: rollen som militrstrategisk vktare vid Natos norra flank, rollen som politiskt ombud i internationella och regionala sammanhang, samt rollen som kritiker av stormakternas agerande i vrlden. Jerker Widn r forskare och lrare i krigsvetenskap vid Frsvarshgskolan i Stockholm. During the Cold War the world was divided between two super-powers. The threat towards Sweden came from the East and the support from the West. The US strived to protect their allies within Nato and considered Sweden as a strategically important player in northern Europe. In this book the three Swedish roles in American security thinking from 1961 to 1968 are scrutinized. The role as a strategic guardian at the northern flank of Nato, as political representative in international and regional connections and as a critic of the global actions by the super powers. Policy documents and embassy reports are analyzed and American reactions and actions to importantevents, such as the spy case Stig Wennerstrm, the Swedish criticism of the Vietnam war and delivery problems of the interceptor missile Redeye. Jerker Widn is a researcher and a teacher of Military Theory at the Department of Military Studies, National Defence College, Stockholm, Sweden.