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The Arctic Is the Criterion of the Truth
// Congress found that America falls behind in the struggle for the North
U.S. Congress held hearings on the Arctic. Congressmen and officials expressed their concerns that Washington is losing in the struggle for the Arctic shelf rich in resources, and demanded that the U.S. administration should be more aggressive on the Arctic front. The Congressmen’s appeals followed Russia’s decision to resume the presence of its battleships in the Arctic regions.
The hearings that were held in the transportation Committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday night were dedicated to the USA’s need in ice class ships. The discussion, however, transformed into thrashing out America’s prospects in the Arctic race, which was launched last August after Russia’s expedition to the North Pole “Arctic 2007.”
Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission Mead Treadwell set the tone of the discussion, “The national interests of the USA in the Arctic total billions, if not trillions of dollars,” he stated. “According to testimony received in 2007 by the Commission from the co-chair of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Task Force the entire extended continental shelf includes energy and mineral resources with an estimated value in excess of $1 trillion. If Arctic seaways become a venue for global trade, the economic impact again is in the billions of dollars. Mineral developments on the drawing board in Alaska and Canada, and current developments in northwest Russia, may already reach that magnitude.”
Not only will the USA benefit economically from developing the Arctic. “An accessible Arctic Ocean means new or expanded routes for the U.S. military sealift to move assets from one part of the world to another. The advent of aircraft, missiles, and missile defense made the Arctic region a major venue for projection of power and a frontier for protecting the security of North America, Asia and Europe,” Mead Treadwell emphasized. The Chairman of the Commission urged that the USA build more polar icebreakers “to guarantee U.S. polar mobility.”
Learning which riches the development of Arctic promises, the Congressmen expressed their concerns over the U.S. current position in the struggle for the Arctic. “Nations from around the world are racing to protect their interests in the Arctic region, and right now the United States is in last place,” Rick Larsen, Dem., disappointed his colleagues.
Those present at the hearing were mostly displeased at Russia’s recent activities. “We’re losing positions. Next year Russia will finish its program of building atomic icebreakers of new generation, which guarantees Russians having a few heavy icebreakers,” warned Admiral Ted Allen. “Russia now has one of the largest icebreakers in the world,” Donald Young, Rep., added, “U.S. Congress must investigate the matter allocating the necessary dollars for a new Arctic fleet for the sake of the future of our great country,” the Congressman concluded.
The hearing in Congress followed Russia’s claiming resumption of its North Fleet warships patrol of the Arctic zone, spokesperson with the Russian Navy Igor Dygalo reported Monday. Mr Dygalo made no secret of the fact that the presence of Russian sailors in the Arctic must reinforce Moscow’s claims for the shelf rich in minerals and carbohydrates, that’s why recurring callings of the North Fleet at the Arctic zone “will be as frequent as needed.”
By the way, Russia’s Arctic ambitions have been mentioned in the Foreign policy conception of the Russian Federation, which President Dmitry Medvedev delivered on Tuesday. “Russia aims to set the boundaries of its continental shelf in accordance with the international law expanding the possibilities for mining its mineral resources,” the document reads.
The American Congressmen seem to have taken it seriously. At least Admiral Allen told them that the White House is now drafting a document about defending America’s national interests in the Arctic, which “will be ready in the near future.”
Alexander Gabuev
All the Article in Russian as of July 18, 2008
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