U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warns of Russian ‘Checkmate’ in Arctic

One thing you can fault the article for is that it assumes Russia is going to let the United States, or any rival for that matter, into the area it now has on lockdown. The United States plays fair for the most part, Russia doesn’t. Playing by the rules puts you into the lesser of equals category. This is why Russia breaks treaties without conscience. This is strategy America has failed to understand in regards to its enemies such as Russia, China, Iran et al, over and over again.

If America were to start constructing new ice breakers to even reach the areas where Russia has, you’re looking at a five-to-ten year planning, not including deployment.

Having said this, one thing the article hit the nail on the head: Checkmate.

It’s too late for America. If it wants the Arctic bad enough, it now has to go to war.

 

Photo credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images

 

The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard issued a stark warning on Wednesday that Russia was leagues ahead of Washington in the Arctic. And while the warming Arctic opens up, the United States could be caught flat-footed while other geopolitical rivals swiftly step in.

Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, warned Russia was building up a huge military and industrial presence in the region while the United States dawdled. Russia is showing “I’m here first, and everyone else, you’re going to be playing catch-up for a generation to catch up to me first,” said Zukunft in remarks before the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They’ve made a strategic statement,” he said.

Vladimir Putin’s ally issues chilling warning to the West: ‘Tanks don’t need visas’

 

One of Vladimir Putin‘s closest aides has issued a chilling warning to the West: “Tanks don’t need visas”.

Deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin – seen by some as a future Kremlin president – claimed the West is now scared of Moscow’s military muscle.

His outspoken words come as the West remains at loggerheads with Russia over Putin’s seizure of Crimea, and alleged military strongarm tactics in eastern Ukraine.

Vowing to exploit the vast mineral riches of the Arctic, Rogozin claimed that America and Euorpe “are afraid of Russia”.

The West is “afraid of the fact that we have started looking around, at our enormous territory”, which, he argued, reached far north of existing frontiers in the Arctic.

Russia’s Arctic Militarization ‘Disturbing,’ US Lawmakers Say

“When you look at what the Russians are doing in the Arctic, it is actually quite impressive –impressive, but disturbing,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Ala., told military leaders at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee Navy budget hearing.“The Russians are looking at adding four new combat brigades in the Arctic as our U.S. Army is thinking at pulling them out of there,” he said. “I think that would give Vladimir Putin a lot of joy. They are building 13 new airfields and conducting long-range air patrols off the coast of Alaska.”

Sullivan said the U.S. military is ill-advised to consider removing one or two Army Brigade Combat teams from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright in Alaska.

Russia: New Tactical Submarines Shooting Under Arctic Ice; Mimics Pentagon’s Control Site

Russia has a new strategic nuclear submarine that can shoot lighter Bulava missiles even when moving and even when under the Arctic Ice, according to a Russian political news portal, PRAVDA.ru. This new submarine is named Vladimir Monomakh and will be in the hands of the Navy of Russia by mid-December. Vladimir Monomakh is just the first round of the many nuclear submarines of its type under the Russia’s Project 955 Borei.

Submarines under the Project 955 will all be equipped with “ascending rescue chambers.” The next in the project is a submarine to be called Knyaz Vladimir that is going to be the first among the many coming submarines that will be equipped with 20 Bulava missile pits, PRAVDA.ru said in its report.

The World’s Next Oil Shipping Corridor: The Arctic Ocean

It’s colder than the Persian Gulf, needs more icebreakers than the Suez Canal and passes less picturesque beaches than the Mediterranean, but the so-called Northern Sea route connecting Europe to Asia via the northern coast of Russia has its advantages.