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The Arctic
By Lt Col P
Came upon this discussion yesterday, by accident almost. Although it unintentionally reveals much about the commenters and their odd notions-- I looked in vain for Skippy-san, perhaps he was using an alias-- it brings up a good point.
An interesting briefing by the Northcom Commander General Victor Renuart has flagged cyber and arctic threats as priorities for the next President. Reportedly, the National Security Council is debating drafting a new strategy document on the Arctic. We have already discussed cyber threats a couple of times, but not the Arctic. Ironically, Russia's behavior in Georgia may have ripple effects of national security thousands of miles away in the Arctic if we really are seeing the resurgence of an aggressive Russian bear. For that matter, one of the near-term security implications of global warming is to make the Arctic more in play for geopolitics. The Arctic mission is also one that would have interesting inter-service rivalry implications, since it would be primarily a Navy and Air Force mission. How important is the Arctic and should an increasing portion of defense resources be directed to it? My own sense is that the bipartisan push for energy security will make the Arctic a higher priority for future Administrations than it has been for decades, and its importance will grow in the decades to come. Given the long lead-times for some weapons purchases, it would be foolish not to make at least some investments in improving our capacity to project power in that region. The priority still should be on other near term concerns, winning the wars that we are in, as Gates puts it, and ensuring our capacity to respond to more urgent challenges, but it is smart strategy to be thinking anew about the Arctic. How big a factor should the Arctic be in US military planning?
At the top of the world we are cheek by jowl with Mother Russia. The end of the Cold War (supposedly) brought the end of the existential threats the old regime presented, the ICBMs, the bombers, the subs. Well, since the new boss in the Kremlin is the same as the old boss, welcome back to a new Cold War in the cold.
All of this has flown below our DEW Line, but it is a frequent topic over at The Torch...
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Comments
Didn't the Russians a while back plant a Russian flag on the seabed in the Arctic?
Arctic as a focus?
After McCain's VP pick, you would think any sabre rattling that would take place would be a very serious mistake...
I'll bet Palin would be able to hit a target at 150 yards in a snowstorm.
I was in Nashville getting drunk on Russian vodka.
Sorry--didn't notice this post already had a link to "The Torch". But the first link in my previous comment updates things a bit.
Mark
Ottawa
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first the artic, then the moon!
Both must be conquered. For freedom.