Friday, February 27, 2009

Front Line

The Canadians are a little touchy about the Russians probing their air defenses:


The long-range Bear bomber did not enter Canada's Arctic airspace but Canadian CF-18 fighters had to order the plane to turn back. The incident took place less than 24 hours before Obama visited Ottawa on February 19.

"This is a real concern to us. I have expressed at various times the deep concern our government has with the increasingly aggressive Russian actions around the globe and into our airspace," Harper told a news conference in the western province of Saskatchewan.


Back during the Cold War, when the Russian threat was to the front line in West Germany, Canada was the rear area of the alliance. If the Arctic becomes a contested zone against an aggressive Russia, Canada becomes a frontline country.

Source: http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/maps2/811_a.jpg


Will Canada build up their military to match their new position? Will Canada want our help? Will NATO help? We need to reorient our alliance a bit, I think.