Forging an Arctic Alliance Canadian-U.S. JIATF-Arctic
In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska securing America’s place with Russia, Norway, Denmark, and neighboring Canada as an Arctic nation.[1] Though criticized as “Seward’s Ice Box,” in short time, Alaska became a strategic asset, holding great natural resources and a vital defensive position on the North American continent. For over one hundred forty years, U.S. and Canadian national security interests in the Arctic have evolved into a more mature cooperative relationship through the Klondike gold rush, World War II, and The Cold War. Throughout each security challenge, the ice and extreme Arctic conditions always served as a natural defense denying direct maritime access to the continent’s northern approach.[2] In August 2007, this assumption was no longer valid when the Northwest Passage opened ice-free, validating various Arctic ice recession models.[3] The effects of climate change creating an Arctic maritime domain have significant new political, military, economic, environmental, and scientific ramifications that require a whole-ofgovernment response. Due to the unique nature of the Arctic region, shared interests, and historical bi-national defense relationship, the Arctic represents a theater for the next phase of greater Canadian and U.S. (CANUS) defense cooperation. A combined Joint Interagency Task Force Arctic (CJIATF-A) under alternating leadership, will best enable a COCOM to address the complexities of the changing Arctic region to promote responsible growth, regional stability, and continental security.
Adapting to a Changing World: The United States, Climate Change, and the Arctic Maritime Commons
Abstract : A new Arctic maritime commons is opening as a tangible reality of climate change. In the next two decades, portions of the Arctic will be largely ice free for many months of the summer. With the retreat of the Arctic ice, new direct shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific will open. Additionally, this will bring access to a wealth of untapped natural resources, including 25% of the world's remaining undiscovered reserves of oil and natural gas. Changes in the Arctic have already brought a growing surge of maritime claims and commercial activity. The neighboring nations of Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Russia seek to extend their claims beyond the traditional 200 nautical mile limit. The United States must answer two questions in determining how it will adapt in a changing Arctic. First, what strategic interests does the United States have in the region and what role will the country take in an ice-free Arctic? Second, what is the nature of the command and control organization required for the United States to operate in this emerging maritime commons? The Arctic Ocean is a region of vital national interest to the United States. With its rich natural resources, commercial shipping interests, and conflicting maritime claims it represents a new maritime domain that is also a potential hot bed of dispute and conflict. For the United States to exert a leadership position in the Arctic, it must participate in international treaties that provide mechanisms for resolving conflicts over maritime claims. The United States is the sole Arctic nation not to have signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Furthermore, the demands of the Arctic require a unique command and control structure capable of dealing with the remote, hostile environment and multi-national character of the region.
Learning to Love the Bomb: Canada's Nuclear Weapons During the Cold War
In Learning to Love the Bomb, Sean M. Maloney explores the controversial subject of Canada's acquisition of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Based on newly declassified Canadian and U.S. documents, it examines policy, strategy, operational, and technical matters and weaves these seemingly disparate elements into a compelling story that finally unlocks several Cold War mysteries. For example, while U.S. military forces during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis were focused on the Caribbean Sea and the southeastern United States, Canadian forces assumed responsibility for defending the northern United States, with aircraft armed with nuclear depth charges flying patrols and guarding against missile attack by Soviet submarines. This defensive strategy was a closely guarded secret because it conflicted with Canada's image as a peacekeeper and therefore a more passive member of NATO than its ally to the south. It is revealed here for the first time. The place of nuclear weapons in Canadian history has, until now, been a highly secret and misunderstood field subject to rumor, rhetoric, half-truths, and propaganda. Learning to Love the Bomb reveals the truth about Canada's role as a nuclear power.