Russia in Sight from Alaska…
Yes, it is important for national security. From John G. Ruggie (1992) “Multilateralism: The Anatomy of an Institution,” International Organization 46(3): 561-598:
The concept of the “North Atlantic” emerged as the spatial image that helped tie the knot [between the U.S. and Western European countries in the years after World War II]. Its formulation and acceptance perhaps were facilitated by the recent revolution in military cartography, whereby the “airman’s view,” and thus the polar proximity of the Soviet Union to the United States, came to shape U.S. strategic planning (589).
