Greenland, Russia, and The Cold War for the Arctic
As Arctic ice melts, the struggle for the frozen north is beginning to resemble a new Cold War.
Russian submarine activity is rising. China is mapping the seabed and expanding its icebreaker fleet. And Greenland sits at the center of a growing contest over shipping routes, critical minerals, energy, and missiles.
Heather Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and one of America’s leading experts on the Arctic, Europe, and transatlantic security, spent years warning that this region would become critical to America’s defense.
What did she see that America and its allies were missing and how much time is left to prepare?
They discuss:
● How much of what Trump wanted in the recent Greenland deal was already possible
● Why Russia sees the Arctic as central to its military and economic future
● Why the United States secretly offered Denmark $100 million for Greenland after WWII
● Why Greenland’s location makes it critical to America’s missile defenses
● How the Arctic shortens distances for missiles, submarines, ships, and undersea cables
● Why China’s Arctic science will also have military applications
● What Greenland’s mineral wealth means for U.S. interests
● Why America cannot adequately defend the Arctic without its allies
The next decade in the Arctic could determine whether America and its allies are ready for when the Cold War in the Arctic gets hot.
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