President Donald Trump, believing Greenland is of strategic importance to the US, has made moves to acquire it. Starting on Feb. 1, Trump announced that eight European countries that oppose this acquisition will face a 10% tariff. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland will face a tariff of 25% in June that will remain in place until "a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," according to the president.
At the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, Trump addressed Greenland, saying he would not take it by force. Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte after his speech, and later announced, "We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region."
Several voices on the left and right opposed the acquisition, with many on the left criticizing the president for straining relationship with US allies. Some on the right did support the move, agreeing that Greenland has strategic importance, and a few on the left and right proposed solutions that would boost US security and maintain Greenland’s sovereignty.
The New York Times Opinion (Left bias) ran a piece from Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister of business, mineral resources, energy, justice and gender equality. “Nevertheless, we find ourselves in a situation where Greenlanders seem to face only two options: being sold or being occupied. That is simply devastating. I see people in Greenland who are deeply affected by these ideas, and the situation calls for a deep breath and some serious dialogue. We have consistently declared ourselves a part of the Western alliance and an ally of the United States. We are open for business and partnerships and welcome American investments. We especially see potential in the energy and mining sectors that could greatly benefit both parties. There is a lot of common ground and a lot of aligned ambitions. We insist only that the country we call home is unharmed and that our decision to remain in the Kingdom of Denmark is respected.”
In the Washington Examiner (Lean Right) a writer argued, “After all, Trump says that the U.S. needs Greenland to prevent the Russian and Chinese domination of, and military threats from, the Arctic. It is absolutely true that those threats are real. But the president is not being honest with the public. It is clear that he wants Greenland not for its security potential, but rather for its rich energy and rare earth mineral reserves. The proof of this is Svalbard.”
A piece in the Daily Signal (Right) read, “Indeed, the best near-term option is for the United States to sign an updated defense agreement with Denmark, one that updates the legal logic presented in the 1941 and 1951 agreements which justified the stationing of forces on the island as part of a continental defense architecture during a time of systemic threats. The updated agreement should formalize and expand U.S. access to Greenland’s territory for military, space, maritime, and infrastructure purposes while reaffirming Greenland’s status as a self-governing territory that is part of Danish sovereignty. Such an agreement would pave the way for the United States to reopen shuttered military bases which would expand the U.S.’ ability to detect Russian or Chinese maritime or air and missile threats to the homeland coming over the arctic pole. The governments of the United States, Denmark, and Greenland now have the opportunity now to craft a future that works to the advantage of all three countries, securing the interests of the American, Danish, and Greenlandic peoples alike.”
A Washington Post (Lean Left) columnist wrote, “The U.S. does not need to own all of Greenland; it can just lease the parts it needs. After all, less than 1 percent of Greenland is inhabited, and approximately 80 percent is covered by an impenetrable ice sheet more than a mile thick. All that’s needed is enough land to establish a series of military bases along Greenland’s narrow coastlands to allow the U.S. to control the new sea routes being created by receding Arctic ice, project force into the Arctic to counter Russia and China, and establish ballistic missile defense stations as part of Trump’s Golden Dome. (Today there is one U.S. military base in Greenland.) Trump should task the Pentagon to identify the military bases it needs to build in Greenland, and then renegotiate the 1951 defense treaty with Denmark to lease them.”
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