the Arctic? The DEW line is backed up by the Mid-Canada 
Defence Line and by the Pinetree Line on the U. S.- 
Canadian border. In addition to these developments, the 
United States and Canada have established experimental 
stations on some of the great floating ice islands in the 
Arctic. 
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a 
further reflection of the importance of this area, for it in- 
cludes countries of the free world for which the North 
Atlantic is an important thoroughfare. 
‘There is much we do not know about Soviet activities 
in the Arctic. Undoubtedly the Russians have not only 
duplicated, but have far exceeded all that we have done. 
We know that they have made hundreds of plane landings 
on ice islands, which as early as 1937 they began using as 
platforms for meteorological and other observations. 
The late General Arnold, who commanded the United 
States Army Air Force in World War II, said that if World 
War III came, its strategic center would be the North Pole. 
Few people even in his own service paid attention to him. 
It took another courageous voice to call attention to our 
vulnerability via Greenland, which led to the establish- 
ment of the great air facility of Thule in north Greenland. 
‘That was the voice of Colonel Bernt Balchen. 
The strategic significance of the Arctic has increased as 
civilization has progressed or developed. ‘The development 
of guided missiles and other weapons but adds to it from a 
military standpoint. It is tragic that the real possibilities 
for economic development should be overshadowed and 
obscured by the defense preparations I have described. 
Granted peace, the economic strategic importance of the 
northlands will exceed their military significance. 
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