Man-o-man, talk about your widening gyre.*
The story so far:"Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary"
"Macron Offers Aid For Greenland Security Amid Trump Threats"
And now, from High North New, June 20:
The Norwegian King's Svalbard Visit Was Important for Completely Different Reasons Than Sovereignty
Is there a reason for that?
Well, it demonstrates that Svalbard is Norwegian land, of course. But it is not a necessary demonstration. There is no international dispute regarding Norwegian sovereignty in this Arctic paradise.
Gas on fire
Not even from the Russian side, except for a few remarks from extremists using any opportunity to throw gasoline on the fire.There is no disagreement that the security situation in the Arctic and the High North is tense, to put it mildly. But there's no need to make it worse than it is.
No need to make it worse than it is.
The backdrop for kilometers-worth of news analyses and radio and TV features about the King's visit to Svalbard is Trump's attack on Greenland.
But that is an entirely different story from that of a Norwegian king on a trip along his own country's outer borders.
The stream of royals and heads of state to Greenland is a response to and a demonstration against American imperialism. This also applies when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, drops by Greenland – it is a display of European unity.
Like Greenland, Svalbard is of great strategic importance. But unlike Greenland, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Norwegian sovereignty in Svalbard is not under pressure.
There is reason to remember that.
Dropped by Svalbard
Because currently, Svalbard expertise can be found in every nook and cranny. Well, expertise is a strong word. All you have to do is spend a couple of days in Longyearbyen, or find Spitsbergen on Google Maps, to elevate the King's visit to a historically necessary assertion of sovereignty.Two far more significant visits to Svalbard have gone almost entirely unnoticed. Both the Chief of Defense, Eirik Kristoffersen, and the Commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, Rune Andersen, recently visited Svalbard. Rune Andersen was there just a week ahead of the King. In uniform....
*William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming, 1919:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.....
Of course it's possible I misread the danger of what's actually going on.
In the meantime, moving on from the circling falcons, we'll keep an eye on the Beaufort Gyre and its potential to plunge Europe into an ice age.
