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Sen. Pete Ricketts put the country’s priorities plainly on Fox Report this weekend: America must be able to protect its northern flank, and that means treating our northern border and the Arctic with the same seriousness we give other theaters. This is common-sense national defense, not some warmed-over globalist appeasement, and it’s refreshing to hear a lawmaker finally say what needs to be said out loud.
For years the political class chased shiny overseas crusades while our own back yards — including the vast, strategically critical Arctic and the border with Canada — were left understaffed and under-resourced. The emergence of Chinese and Russian activity in the far north is no abstract academic worry; it is a real strategic challenge that demands immediate action and robust deterrence. Americans who pay taxes and serve in uniform expect leaders who will defend the homeland first.
President Trump’s tougher posture toward allies and competitors is drawing the right kind of attention to gaps our adversaries are exploiting, and Republicans should be unapologetic about insisting on resources to secure the north. Negotiations about Greenland, Arctic basing, and closer coordination with friendly northern partners are part of the toolbox — diplomacy backed by capability wins every time. Our message should be clear: we will negotiate, but we will not allow strategic vacuums for adversaries to fill.
Senator Ricketts has been consistent in pushing for stronger defense and border measures, and his warnings about adversaries buying ground near U.S. bases should make every American uneasy. When foreign powers quietly acquire land around sensitive installations or expand their Arctic reach, that isn’t commerce — it’s strategic encroachment in slow motion. Lawmakers who understand that reality and act on it deserve support, not the scorn of coastal elites who’ve grown comfortable outsourcing our security.
Critics who insist the northern border is a nonissue are willfully blind to recent intelligence and reporting showing increased interest from adversaries in the Arctic and Canadian approaches. This isn’t alarmism; it’s prudence. The next decade will decide who controls key Arctic passages and resources, and conservatives must demand a posture that preserves American sovereignty and protects families here at home.
Washington’s next steps should be straightforward: fund modern surveillance and rapid-response units for the north, codify clearer authorities to deter hostile acquisitions near bases, and pair diplomatic outreach with credible deterrence. The One Big Beautiful Bill and similar defense-focused measures are a start, but Congress must keep the pressure on to deliver real capabilities rather than talking points. Voters expect their representatives to put homeland defense ahead of virtue-signaling.
Hardworking Americans deserve leaders who will stand tough, secure our borders from every direction, and ensure the United States cannot be boxed in by adversaries on multiple fronts. Senator Ricketts is sounding the alarm on behalf of a sleeping policy establishment, and patriotic conservatives should rally behind that sense of urgency. If we don’t act now to protect the northern flank, the bill will come due — and it will be our citizens who pay for Washington’s complacency.
