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Arctic vulnerable to terrorists
Enormous size, easy access make Canada's North a soft target, forum hears
____________________
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
Can West News Service
YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T
As resource development sweeps across Canada's North, new fears are emerging that terrorists could see the Arctic as the soft underbelly of the continent.
Especially worrisome are new pushes for northern oil and gas, which could give the Arctic a strategic importance it has not seen since the end of the Cold War.
â Å“As the circumpolar countries raise the profile of the Arctic... (it) then becomes a new target for international terrorism,â ? Norm Couturier, the commander of Canadian Forces Northern Area,
told policy makers at the Northern Research Forum on Saturday
More than 150 people from the circumpolar world gathered in Yellowknife this week to discuss northern issues, including Arctic security. â Å“Due to its enormous size and its easier access, (the Arctic) could become a soft target and a real challenge to the circumpolar security forces,â ? said Couturier.
Already, the growing Northwest Territories diamond trade has brought organized criminal elements to the North. Northern ports have also been used for illegal immigration and transportation of contraband, especially drugs. Now the fear is that as security holes are dosed in southern borders, terrorist groups could look to the North to gain access to the continent, especially as global warming makes the Arctic a more accessible place.
Because the Canadian military has no dedicated satellite surveillance of the Arctic â †although such a project is planned â “ and a limited budget and presence in the North, it can be difficult to monitor activity across the vast area north of 60, which constitutes 40 per cent of the Canadian landmass.
Instead, it relies for surveillance on Canada groups of primarily aboriginal hunters trained to patrol near their communities on snowmobiles and boats and report unusual sightings to the northern military headquarters in Yellowknife.
But Icelandic president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson urged restraint, calling on the circumpolar world to be aware of security issues without allowing those concerns to interfere with the general freedom of northern lifestyles. The terrorist risk in the North is comparatively low, he said. â Å“If we in the North lose ourselves in this discussion about terrorism, I think we will be misled,â ? he said.
â Å“First of all, the terrorists want to kill / a lot of people at the same timeâ â€and the North is so sparsely populated. Secondly, we don't have the symbols of global power or influence or financial might that it pays to attack.â ? And the military threats to the North are negligible compared to sovereignty concerns, as Canada disputes ownership of Arctic territory with Denmark, Russia and the U.S., said Rob Huebert, the associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.
Even so, the perception of vulnerability to terror has begun to worry some northerners. The Canadian military and NORAD continue to run 47 short- and long-range radar stations across the North, some located very close to traditional communities like the Northwest Territory town of Tuktoyaktuk
There, people have mounting concerns that the installations built for their protection could actually bring their demise.
â Å“If terrorists decide to invade our country, those DEW line sites are going to be the first to be hit,â ? said Frank Pokiak, a representative from Tuktoyaktuk at the research forum. 'There's one right in Tukâ â€they could wipe out the whole community?â ?
Enormous size, easy access make Canada's North a soft target, forum hears
____________________
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
Can West News Service
YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T
As resource development sweeps across Canada's North, new fears are emerging that terrorists could see the Arctic as the soft underbelly of the continent.
Especially worrisome are new pushes for northern oil and gas, which could give the Arctic a strategic importance it has not seen since the end of the Cold War.
â Å“As the circumpolar countries raise the profile of the Arctic... (it) then becomes a new target for international terrorism,â ? Norm Couturier, the commander of Canadian Forces Northern Area,
told policy makers at the Northern Research Forum on Saturday
More than 150 people from the circumpolar world gathered in Yellowknife this week to discuss northern issues, including Arctic security. â Å“Due to its enormous size and its easier access, (the Arctic) could become a soft target and a real challenge to the circumpolar security forces,â ? said Couturier.
Already, the growing Northwest Territories diamond trade has brought organized criminal elements to the North. Northern ports have also been used for illegal immigration and transportation of contraband, especially drugs. Now the fear is that as security holes are dosed in southern borders, terrorist groups could look to the North to gain access to the continent, especially as global warming makes the Arctic a more accessible place.
Because the Canadian military has no dedicated satellite surveillance of the Arctic â †although such a project is planned â “ and a limited budget and presence in the North, it can be difficult to monitor activity across the vast area north of 60, which constitutes 40 per cent of the Canadian landmass.
Instead, it relies for surveillance on Canada groups of primarily aboriginal hunters trained to patrol near their communities on snowmobiles and boats and report unusual sightings to the northern military headquarters in Yellowknife.
But Icelandic president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson urged restraint, calling on the circumpolar world to be aware of security issues without allowing those concerns to interfere with the general freedom of northern lifestyles. The terrorist risk in the North is comparatively low, he said. â Å“If we in the North lose ourselves in this discussion about terrorism, I think we will be misled,â ? he said.
â Å“First of all, the terrorists want to kill / a lot of people at the same timeâ â€and the North is so sparsely populated. Secondly, we don't have the symbols of global power or influence or financial might that it pays to attack.â ? And the military threats to the North are negligible compared to sovereignty concerns, as Canada disputes ownership of Arctic territory with Denmark, Russia and the U.S., said Rob Huebert, the associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.
Even so, the perception of vulnerability to terror has begun to worry some northerners. The Canadian military and NORAD continue to run 47 short- and long-range radar stations across the North, some located very close to traditional communities like the Northwest Territory town of Tuktoyaktuk
There, people have mounting concerns that the installations built for their protection could actually bring their demise.
â Å“If terrorists decide to invade our country, those DEW line sites are going to be the first to be hit,â ? said Frank Pokiak, a representative from Tuktoyaktuk at the research forum. 'There's one right in Tukâ â€they could wipe out the whole community?â ?