Officials Predict More Wargames, More Attention in the Arctic

Air, Space Forces see Arctic as direct shot to attacking Russia, China, or North Korea

The US Air Force and Space Force are laying out their first Arctic strategy, predicting a deeper military focus on the region going forward,with space operations chief Gen. John Raymond saying the Arctic is “key terrain” for them.

To that end, the plan is to hold even more wargames in the Arctic, and courting more allies for fighting in the region. In general, there will be more attention given to the operation in the area. The expectation is that this is their most important region.

Previous reports on the Arctic emphasized the importance of natural resources, but in reality officials say a lot of what matters is logistics. US attacks on Russia, China, or North Korea would be more direct with the Arctic.

Attacking those nations was emphasized by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who says that US control of the area would “deter” Russia and China from becoming more active. Pompeo commented in a visit to Denmark, emphasizing the regional importance.

Russia has a deep presence in the Arctic, and China is also looking to get icebreakers into the region, seeing global warming as potentially opening new trade routes.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.