Setting the Scene for Global Destruction. Now It’s the Arctic The U.S. is preparing for war in the Arctic, and the “boiling point” might not be far away, Brian Cloughley writes. On April 8 the front pages of the main U.S. newspapers noted that President Biden was “open to compromise” and a quick glance prompted optimism that Uncle Joe might be seeing some sense about international developments. He said that “Debate is welcome. Compromise is inevitable. Changes are certain,” which is a deep and important statement that would be immensely heartening if it referred to U.S. relations with China and Russia.