[Vision2020] Canada Upping Arctic Presence

[Tom Hansen]

First Iraq.  Then Iran.  Now Canada.

Canada intends upon preserving its sovereign right over the Northwest
Passage which is estimated to contain access to "25 percent of the world's
undiscovered oil and gas."

>From the July 10, 2007 edition of the Spokesman Review -

"U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins has criticized Harper's promise to defend the
Arctic, claiming the Northwest Passage as 'neutral waters.' But Wilkins
declined to comment on Monday, said U.S. Embassy spokesman James Foster."

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Canada upping Arctic presence
 
U.S.: Oil-rich area is international territory
Rob Gillies 
Associated Press
July 10, 2007

TORONTO - Canada announced plans Monday to increase its Arctic military
presence in an effort to assert sovereignty over the Northwest Passage - a
potentially oil-rich region the United States claims is international
territory.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said six to eight patrol ships will guard what
he says are Canadian waters. A deep water port will also be built in a
region the U.S. Geological Survey estimates has as much as 25 percent of the
world's undiscovered oil and gas.
 
"Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the
Arctic. We either use it or lose it. And make no mistake, this government
intends to use it," Harper said. "It is no exaggeration to say that the need
to assert our sovereignty and protect our territorial integrity in the North
on our terms have never been more urgent."

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins has criticized Harper's promise to defend the
Arctic, claiming the Northwest Passage as "neutral waters." But Wilkins
declined to comment on Monday, said U.S. Embassy spokesman James Foster.

As global warming melts the passage - which now is only navigable during a
slim window in the summer - the waters are exposing unexplored resources
such as oil, fishing stocks and minerals, and becoming an attractive
shipping route. Commercial ships can shave off some 2,480 miles from Europe
to Asia compared with current routes through the Panama Canal.

The disputed route runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic
archipelago. It gained historical fame among European explorers who longed
to find the shorter route to Asia but found it rendered inhospitable by ice
and weather.

Canadians have long claimed the waters. But their government has generally
turned a blind eye to the United States, which has sent naval vessels and
submarines through what it considers an international strait.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the ice cap is
warming faster than the rest of the planet and ice is receding partly due to
greenhouse gases.

"The ongoing discovery of the north's resource riches coupled with the
potential impact of climate change has made the region a growing area of
interest and concern," Harper said.

Professor Anthony D'Amato, who teaches international law at Northwestern
University, said Canada's attempt to secure future economic gains as the
area thaws and becomes more navigable was unlikely to change the
international community's view of sovereignty in the area.

"For Canada to now come in and take advantage of the ice break-up is just
unacceptable," said D'Amato. "Just because there's a change in the weather
doesn't mean there's a change in the law."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)