First, we need to make it crystal clear that Trump’s Golden Dome is neither golden, nor is it a dome, although once Americans see the cost, they may believe that it is made of gold for sure. Trump didn’t create the term either, he just copied the idea from Israel.
Israel’s Iron dome is a series of short-range anti-missile defence sites, designed to protect populated areas and critical infrastructure from missiles, artillery, rockets or drones. Israel of course has a population of only 10 million people and only 18 cities with populations over 100,000, in a country covering 22,000 square kilometres.
Trump on the other hand has a 9,148,000 square kilometre country with 340 million people and 346 cities with over 100,000 people, including Anchorage Alaska and Honolulu Hawaii. And these numbers don’t include significant strategic assets like naval, air and army bases, dams, power plants, and ports. The resources needed to protect such a huge nation would be an enormous and very costly task.
Israel needs to defend against short range missiles, the U.S. would have to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles, space launched missiles, and hypersonic cruise missiles, as well as missiles fired from within the country by foreign actors.
CANADA and the GOLDEN DOME
Trump says that Canada could buy into the golden dome for a mere 60 billion dollars. My first point is that Canada doesn’t need a dome of any kind. A simple look at a map of Canada will show that Canada’s cities, and critical infrastructure is all located in the southern half of our country. If Canada needs anything it would be a simple northern wall. Like a modern day ‘Game of Thrones’, but, Canada doesn’t have that many enemies. Most threats to Canada come from our relative geography to the U.S. Guilt by association. Canada has several trade and diplomatic issues with China, and India, but we’re not planning on going to war with either of them. Russia has its eye on arctic dominance, and that is definitely a concern. One that depends on a defined and long term Canadian presence in our arctic.
Canada’s primary area of concern is therefore our north. Through naval, submarine and surface ship patrols, and air surveillance, control of our north can readily be achieved, not by a dome, but by a wall. An electronic wall that watches and listens to what happens throughout the north. A wall that already exists. The arctic early warning system currently in Canada’s north certainly needs upgrading and the possible addition of long range over-the-horizon radar, and an effective defence from hypersonic and cruise missiles is needed.
A look at a globe from the North Pole would show that such a wall, in Canada and extending across Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland would seriously control the arctic. Canada and the world, needs such a wall. If the U.S. wanted to participate in such a wall by extending it through Alaska, I’m sure that Canada and her allies would approve. But the wall is not and would not be an Ameri-centric proposition, it would be a NATO strategy. The northern wall and the ‘Golden Dome’ are generally duplication of effort except than one is designed to protect only one country, while the other is designed to protect two continents.
In conclusion, if Donald Trump wants to build a golden dome, I would suggest that the world let him. Canada neither needs it nor should Canada contribute to it, and neither does Europe. A European-Canadian, northern wall however, with or without the U.S. would be a fine idea.
ADDED BENEFIT
Should Canada and her natural arctic neighbours and allies build the northern wall, Canada’s need for a NORAD relationship with the U.S. would disappear eliminating the constant American, ‘We protect you’ and ‘NORAD interoperability’ talking points.
And for Donald Trump, a historical reminder for his grand parade:
The Grand old Duke of York –
he had 10,000 men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
and marched them down again.
