Increasingly, writes Vijay Prashad, NATO, with operations based in Norway, is replacing the Arctic Council as a decision-making authority in the region
By Vijay Prashad
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
In 1996, the eight countries on the Arctic rim Canada, Denmark, Finland,
In 1996, the eight countries on the Arctic rim – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States – formed the Arctic Council, a journey that began in 1989 when Finland approached the other countries to hold a discussion about the Arctic environment.
On a bitter late September day, in water temperatures at the base pier around 32 degrees, two Inuit men visiting Thule to demonstrate their culture took to the harbor in kayaks to show how they maneuver and roll and, mostly, how they stay alive.
Missile warning is the core mission at Thule. It’s a year-round, 24/7 operation with downtime only for maintenance, which is tightly controlled and scheduled in advance with its sister radars at RAF Fylingdales in the U.K. and Clear Air Force Station, Alaska.