Despite What General Scales Said, U.S. Military Leaders Are Taking Icecap Melting Seriously

Sharon Burke wrote for Foreign Policy about US military leaders' reaction to climate change:

The Russian Defense Ministry recently announced that experts would be flying over the Arctic in early April to check whether the conditions were favorable for “dropping cargoes and possible landing of troops.”

This does not necessarily mean that Alaska is the next target for a takeover, but it surely means Russia will keep building up its Arctic military presence. In the last two years, Russia has allegedly established a new Northern Command, restored Cold War era bases and built new ones, added air defense and coastal missile batteries, and conducted snap military exercises in the region.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is just wrapping up Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2016 to “research, test, and evaluate operational capabilities in the Arctic region.”

Why all of the sudden military activity in this hazardous, inhospitable region? Simple: the Arctic is melting, so for the first time in human history, the area will be accessible for transit and resource extraction, and it is highly attractive for both ends. That makes it a region worth defending — and coveting — especially for nations such as Russia or Canada whose national identity is tied into the “far north.”