Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland... allow[ing] it to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft.” It was signed in 1951 by the United States and Denmark, which colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago and still controls some of its affairs....
So it's essentially already ours? But Rubio told Congress yesterday that Trump wants to buy Greenland. Olesen told the NYT that "Greenland does not want to be bought by anyone — especially not the United States." Presuming that this Olesen knows what Greenland wants, I'd still regard that as a bargaining position. And they are bargaining with Trump. We'll see what happens.
By the way, when invaded by the Nazis during WWII, Denmark surrendered in less than 6 hours. "Its ambassador in Washington, cut off from Copenhagen, took it upon himself to strike a defense agreement for Greenland with the United States. The fear was that Nazis could use Greenland as a steppingstone to America. The Germans had already established small meteorological bases on the island’s east coast and relayed information for battles in Europe. American troops eventually ousted them and established more than a dozen bases there with thousands of troops, landing strips and other military facilities."
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159 comments:
There is no reason to take anything Europeans say seriously. They are not adult nations. They don't defend themselves.
Even when they don't have their own military they try to invade Russia.
Denmark went full socialist and are now suffering the consequences. They might want the cash…
Even when they don't have their own military they try to invade Russia.
WTF are you talking about. Only Napoleon and Hitler tried to invade Russia, both failed miserably.
Buy Greenland? What pussies. I thought we were just going to take it.
My buddy said the 82nd Airborne just landed in Greenland.
"Why Greenland? Well because Moscow bases almost all of their strategic military assets on the Kola Peninsula next to Finland. This is where the Russian ICBM silos, submarine bases, and their strategic bombers are.
If you look at the flight path (ballistic or powered) from Kola to anywhere on the lower 48, then everything goes over Greenland.
If you want to intercept a ballistic missile, the best point to do so is at the apogee, at the top of the flight path. The shortest route for an interceptor to get to an apogee is from directly below the apogee.
That’s where Greenland is.
The other thing that is happening is that the Northern Passage through the Arctic is opening up, and soon there will be Chinese cargo ships sailing through the Arctic to Rotterdam. It’s faster than the Suez and the ships aren’t limited to Suezmax size so China and EU trade is going to accelerate a lot.
This means Chinese submarines will also be venturing under the Arctic into the Northern Atlantic, IF THEY AREN’T ALREADY DOING SO.
Hence, the North East coast of Greenland serves not 1 but 2 critical strategic security objectives of US national security."
Read more here and see a great map.
https://x.com/Object_Zero_/status/2008524560891588691
The great circle route for missiles from Iran to the US also passes over Greenland.
My buddy said the 82nd Airborne just landed in Greenland.
All the way from Cuba?
The heavyhandedness and tactlessness of this kind of foreign policy will come back to bite us. It's clumsy. Though it may be in the future, even generationally, it always does.
There are other ways to walk tall than just carrying a big stick.
Just do what the does everywhere else, like we did in Venezuela, first you sanction the economy strangling their oil sector for example, then as people get hungry, you agitate their anger, you pay, using the untraceable money from that slush fund that DOGE was looking into, using USAID money, in other words, people to protest in the streets, and since the economy has been destroyed, people are happy for US dollars, so they take it, then you instigate the violence, and when the government cracks down on the US funded protests, the US uses that as the pretext for a forceful regime change, rinse repeat. See Syria, see Iran right now, and see Venezuela, just for three examples, by some counts, the US has done 80+ regime change operations around the world since the end of WWII.
So if we want Greenland, it's ours, for sure, however, we may be subject the the Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."
’All the way from Cuba?’
They took an airplane. Wasn’t a bad trip, apparently. No word on the in-flight movie, but I’ll keep you posted!
Oh yeah, and the press, which is totally in on it, assures the normies that we are doing it to "help people." I actually believed this framing regarding Iraq, I don't know how many times Americans are going to swallow it, did with help the poor Vietnamese?
The other thing that is happening is that the Northern Passage through the Arctic is opening up, and soon there will be Chinese cargo ships sailing through the Arctic to Rotterdam.
If Global Warming is a hoax, how can that be?
If you want to intercept a ballistic missile, the best point to do so is at the apogee, at the top of the flight path. The shortest route for an interceptor to get to an apogee is from directly below the apogee.
And with the treaty Ann just cited, what would prevent the U.S. from doing just that if it wanted to?
"Presuming that this Olesen knows what Greenland wants,"
Media trust.... LOW.
I think Trump was worth a shot, but sadly, he's no different than Joe Biden or Barack Obama about international affairs, except that Barry and Joe were more subtle about it.
RSM: The heavyhandedness and tactlessness of this kind of foreign policy... is exactly the sort of macho posturing that makes Trump so popular among the obese Army of the new Confederacy. It's a testosterone substitute. It tastes great, it's less filling and you get all the benefits by sitting in your barcalounger watching Fox News.
The left, firmly believing in the religion of impending global warming doom, and the ice caps melting and the equatorial regions burning up, you would think they would welcome and want the US owning Greenland. Well, maybe if it was a dem president grabbing it.
"sweeping military access in Greenland" Access and full control are different things. Whether the difference matters is another question. But neither Denmark nor the Greenlanders can do the job of protecting/using a strategic asset as superpower rivalry heats up. Therefore, we "need" Greenland. Should be negotiable in art of the better deal.
In a way I agree with Freder on many things, but he has major blind spots regarding the complicity of his own beloved Democrat leaders regarding this aggressive use of chaos around the word to advance US strategic objectives.
Shorter Howard
rehajm 8:41
Indeed.
Trump, a Fifties/Sixties kid, grew up when Jefferson was unproblematic, TR and Wilson were great, Polk near-great, and Westward Expansion a glorious epic. I can sympathize. Younger generations don't.
I think there is some excrement hitting rotating device in the North Atlantic just now.
Greenland has population of about 60,000 and GDP of $3 billion. Offer $1 million per person and moving expenses to leave. Buy it for $60 billion. And move in.
I'm sorry. But what the hell? Why does Denmark and 10,000 people have the sole, exclusive right to a massive territory one fourth the size of the United States. When Europeans seized control of territory in the Western Hemisphere, they didn't just plant flags and walk away. They built intricate systems designed to flood the area with migrants, to extract wealth and maintain order and, ultimately, build a civilization. The Dutch aren't doing any of that. It's just a few thousand people and some trailers. I'm calling BS on Dutch imperialism, especially when it's this lazy.
And with the treaty Ann just cited, what would prevent the U.S. from doing just that if it wanted to?
The US probably can do it now.
The post I linked addresses the why, not the how or the whether or not we should.
In reply to your other question, temperatures have always fluctuated. The trend could reverse at any time and eventually it will.
Trump want's to buy it... thus he is asking 'nicely'... MAGA..
"When Europeans seized control of territory in the Western Hemisphere, they didn't just plant flags and walk away."
Well, the French sort of did, well, the buried lead plates in the ground asserting their claims, which the Indians then dug up and handed over to the British. That's why the French got kicked out except for a tiny little slice attached to Newfoundland or Labrador, not sure, where it is still France and you need a passport to go there. The British allowed them this spot to process fish.
Perhaps establish some incentives. Send out some "You've been pre-approved." notices to countries, provinces and territories of interest.
Once they've returned the invitation (after checking the, "We agree to the terms and conditions," box) they will receive an award (kinda like "Miles").
The first to join will receive a "bonus" of, say, $20 Billion. The amount would become smaller with each sign-up. The "offer", of course, would be for a limited time only!
Should any French-speaking areas of Canada be allowed to apply, it would be with the understanding that their provincial capital would be located in Lafayette.LA.
Maybe that's what Trump should do with Greenland, give Denmark a tiny slice to process their fish.
Greenland, during the Medieval Warm Period, was actually green, and exported a lot of beef, records show, so maybe Greenland can be the new Texas, if it ever gets as warm as it was a thousand years ago again.
I think Trump did ask nicely first. Maybe I'm wrong. He does have reasons to distrust the Danes.
Yeah, the Danes can be bought. By the Chinese. Relying on the good will of either is pretty foolish.
All this time and you still don’t understand Trump? He even wrote a book about it. You ask for something completely outrageous then settle for more than you actually wanted in the first place.
"The Dutch aren't doing any of that. It's just a few thousand people and some trailers."
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor ?
Also unconfirmed reports say Trump is negotiating with the First Nations of Canada to work out a purchase + reparations offer for which the First People will hand over large chucks of Canada. After ten years of reciting "stolen land" announcements someone is finally taking Canada seriously.
Again, Fredo--if you have to explain the joke...
The more you know, Fredo:
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/roald-amundsen-north-west-passage-expedition-1903-06
My Father in Law was an engineer who worked on Nuclear reactors and their back up systems. (Now retired) On 4 occasions he had the adventure to go to then Thule Air Base in the northern most part of Greenland. Our base is powered by a nuclear reactor. Camp Century, another Greenland base, was also powered by a second mobile nuclear reactor.
He would take a military transport to the base and the schedule was "Flexible". He never knew if the plane was taking off for the trip up there and back due to the weather. There was no contact with the mainland. He had no ability to call my Mother in Law.
They provided cold weather gear and the base had many underground tunnels and housing. If you were outside, there were "emergency huts" every 500 feet, in case you got caught in one of the many storms that just turn up.
There was a third base, too. Thule was a huge Radar base.
Jersey Fled: "It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, Babe,
If'n you don't know by now..."
“Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland...”
We want the mineral rights. We might allow the Greenlanders (who stole Greenland from the Eskimos or whatever the PC term is now) to keep living there, if they ask nicely. Otherwise they can just go to the beach and start swimming.
Again, Fredo--if you have to explain the joke.
You will have to explain this comment. I don't know what the joke I missed was.
I think Trump did ask nicely first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjHvkrDIHto
Fredo writes, "WTF are you talking about."
One may ask, WTF are you talking about? I realize history isn't your strong point, but have you never heard of Charles XII?
Greenland isn't likely worth buying since it is going to be covered in ice for the next several thousand years at the very least but there is a price Denmark and/or Greenlanders will accept- that much is certain. All that is happening right now are the opening bids.
We might allow the Greenlanders (who stole Greenland from the Eskimos or whatever the PC term is now) to keep living there, if they ask nicely.
90% of the population is native. If you offer them a choice between being Danish or American, what possible advantage is there in becoming American? They are mostly subsistence fishers and hunters but are covered by Danish Social Programs like universal, free, healthcare.
"Greenland does not want to be bought by anyone — especially not the United States."
Michael: Is my credit good enough to buy you out?
Moe: No. You don't buy me out, I buy you out... Do you know who I am?
I'm Moe Greenland!
Freder Frederson said...
"Buy Greenland? What pussies. I thought we were just going to take it."
There ya go. Working without tools again.
They sold us the Virgin Islands way back when, so let's try that first. Meet with your approval?
Global warming? You guys changed it to "climate change". You know. To keep it open ended so you can claim any change as a gotcha.
There is no dispute that there is global warming. Just that we humans aren't causing it. There is a stupendous fusion reactor in the sky that is causing "climate change" on all the planets in our solar system. Sol is a variable star in its own way.
Do some research. Science is your friend. It will help you in the long run.
Freder Frederson said...
If Global Warming is a hoax, how can that be?
The earth's rotational access is constantly changing. Ice is moving to the south pole as a result.
Explaining coordinate frames to you would be impossible. You IQ is too low.
"Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever."
Freder Frederson said...
Even when they don't have their own military they try to invade Russia.
WTF are you talking about. Only Napoleon and Hitler tried to invade Russia, both failed miserably.
I blame public education.
Trump enters into discussion to purchase strategically important territory from foreign nation which the US has defended through its treasury since WW2 as part of legally binding treaties.
THE MONSTER!
Any transfers were always going to be 1) via purchase, and 2) with Denmark's agreement.
Yancey Ward said...
Greenland isn't likely worth buying since it is going to be covered in ice for the next several thousand years at the very least but there is a price Denmark and/or Greenlanders will accept- that much is certain. All that is happening right now are the opening bids.
I think what is happening in Alberta is much more interesting than Greenland anyways.
Trump's administration despite being compelled by law to release all the Epstein files un-redacted unless the reason is to protect the victims have released 0.6% of the files heavily redacted to protect Trump.
It's going to be non-stop interventionism and anything it takes to create stories while the world burns to keep those files out of the news. His supporters are empty vessels and will support anything dear leader does or the things is pretty clear he did with Epstein.
I forgot to mention - The total cost of "incentives" for joining the US will not be an obligation of the US Treasury. The whole tab will be paid by Somalians in Minnesota.
I think part of this is that Trump is fucking with Canada. At least, that's how Canada is taking it.
Yancy the ice-free portion is larger than California. Tine, my father was a cryptographer at Thule. Took up smoking to pass the time.
Tell us again how the "missing heat" from global warming is buried in the deep ocean where there are no thermometers, Kak. That was was a real knee slapper too.
Pony in there somewhere!
Rubio told Congress yesterday that Trump wants to buy Greenland
So... we already have sweeping access without paying anything, but Trump wants to compensate Denmark for that access (and some more) and it's bad?
Also - Denmark isn't where the Dutch live, and Denmark isn't socialist (just a very high-tax, high-benefit capitalist system). And Freder, the 82nd Airborne is a joke. And Kak, geez, STILL on Epstein? And Jaq, how is compensating an ally that cannot use a particular strategic advantage in order to secure that strategic advantage for the US "as bad as" Biden or Obama?
Trump could probably get Greenland for $57 billion. Just offer the 56,831 Greenlanders $1 million apiece and tell them they can share as much or as little as they want with Denmark.
Greenland’s prime minister should get ahead of Trump and ask for $17.6 million per capita. That’s only $1 trillion, a multiple of 30 times GDP, a cheap tech company.
And Freder, the 82nd Airborne is a joke.
I understand the 82nd Airborne is a joke. But I think Beasts believed it the first time when his buddy told him they had been in Venezuela since the end of September.
I looked up the current population of Greenland this morning. 57000-59000 depending on who you ask, almost entirely in small, coastal villages. We have suburbs in my metro that are multiple times bigger and, lol, probably larger in square kilos if you added all the Greenland villages together :)
I doubt buying it will be as cheap as the Manhattan Island deal.
"If you offer them a choice between being Danish or American, what possible advantage is there in becoming American? They are mostly subsistence fishers and hunters but are covered by Danish Social Programs like universal, free, healthcare."
Lots of money, Fredo, lots and lots of money.
WTF are you talking about. Only Napoleon and Hitler tried to invade Russia, both failed miserably. "Only" - objectively false. Japan invaded Russia as well.
A show of hands, please- who thinks Fredo would turn down $1,000,000 in order to get free Danish healthcare?
"Yancy the ice-free portion is larger than California."
And with a population the same as Lodi. If the land were worth a lot, there would be more people living there.
There’s also a psychological dimension to owning Greenland. It plants a clear message in the minds of others: this place is hands-off - don’t even contemplate expanding your ambitions here. At the same time, its physical presence strengthens our nation’s self-image and projects unmistakable power to both allies and adversaries.
Territory isn’t just land - it’s a statement.
(Obviously there are real strategic benefits in controlling Greenland but the psychological factor is also there.)
One may ask, WTF are you talking about? I realize history isn't your strong point, but have you never heard of Charles XII?
You are right on that one, I have a very limited knowledge of Swedish history. Thanks for the heads up, but I doubt many Americans know much about Charles XII. The Wikipedia article is translated from Swedish.
"We'll see what happens."
That's already known. Frau and I are considering beachfront property. Since the shoreline is soooooo long prices should be pretty good.
I suspect the only interest in Greenland is in opening it up for natural resources and strategic defense. We have plenty of American presence in foreign and even more-distant lands, without the need to capture the territory. These are opening gambits only, I think. In the end, the result will be agreements that allow long-term access, to the benefit of all parties. And the parties directly involved already know this.
"US "as bad as" Biden or Obama?"
No, I was just being general about the things that Trump has been doing, in this case, I don't have a serious problem with it, compared to other things he has done. He reminds me so much of the "businessman President" in the novel Infinite Jest, though. Although that guy was always giving away territory, he was an "experialist" but in the novel, it had been horribly contaminated, and he was trying to stick Canada with a toxic wasteland that Upstate New York, had become, I think.
WTF are you talking about. Only Napoleon and Hitler tried to invade Russia, both failed miserably. "Only" - objectively false. Japan invaded Russia as well.
I was responding to Achilles post. He was talking about Europeans. Last I checked, Japan is not in Europe. Quaester apparently knows a lot about Sweden, and he justifiably corrected me. And Charles XII failed miserably too.
Trump could simultaneously bring us world peace, secure hegemony and prosperity, but Kak would give all that up to see those Epstein files showing that Trump bought Jeffrey a nice bottle of wine in 1998. He's got principles that demand priorities.
Greenland should hire the very best investment banking firm in the U.S. That is a big reason Native Americans had to sell out so cheap, they did not have good investment bankers.
AI: "As of early 2026, approximately 83% to 84% of Denmark's total population is considered native, or of "Danish origin"."
"While the number of people of native Danish descent has remained relatively stable at around 5 million for several decades, nearly all recent population growth in the country has been driven by immigration."
Waiting for them to come around, as far as selling, would not be wise.
tcrosse said, "I think part of this is that Trump is fucking with Canada. At least, that's how Canada is taking it."
Canada's case is special. Canada's been legally fucking themselves with their dainty little land-acknowledgement virtue signaling.
Canada is taking it...like the self-pegging-self-hating submissives they are.
Is the article really suggesting we never simply asked respectfully? That seems like a lazy thing to write, and not very believable.
Regardless, if the choice is protecting the entire nation from the risk of nuclear annihilation versus Trump being rude to Denmark about something they have very tenuous rights to, I know where the left comes down.
It's crazy for Trump and the White House to talk about a military seizure of another country. Full stop.
A show of hands, please- who thinks Fredo would turn down $1,000,000 in order to get free Danish healthcare?
Considering that my mother-in-law burned through almost that much for care during the last five years of her life, I don't think I would take the bet.
If I owned land that I felt was taken unfairly the way these land acknowledgements pretend, Id give the damned land back to them and move to the middle of Antarctica or the Sahara, but to do the acknowledgment and then keep it is really some gangster pissing on graves stuff.
Denmark is in no position to enforce its ownership of Greenland. But not "as against" the US. The issue is not us, but other countries who would/could buy or take it like Russia/China. The US buying Greenland keeps it forever from being acquired by force or by purchase by China or Russia. And it would be most useful for the West to keep it secure.
Freder: “ Charles XII failed miserably too.”
Sabaton has a magnificent concept album, Carolus Rex, about the rise and fall of the Swedish Empire. Available in Swedish and English. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll bang your head. CC, JSM
An easy return on $1 million is $40- 50K per year. That would buy some nice health insurance, with a vacation budget left over.
We've been told since at least the 80s that the arctic ice cap would be gone in 10 years. We still are. It will disappear by 2035 or 40, according to the experts.
It expands and contracts year to year but it is still there and still normal, historic size.
OTOH, there is a northwest passage and has been for a long time. So much of a passage that, in the 60s, when Alaskan oil was coming on line, there was serious thought given to shipping it east through the Northwest passage. A proof of concept round trip voyage by the SS Manhattan was even made in 1969.
Problems were more political and diplomatic with Canada than navigational. Also environmental concerns.
So the Prudhoe bay to Valdez pipeline was built instead.
John Henry
’But I think Beasts believed it the first time when his buddy told him…
Again, I never claimed to believe or disbelieve it. I just found it curious and thought I’d share it. Any date on the FBI showing up at my door? I need to run to grocery store and don’t wanna miss them…
.. a little-known Cold War agreement, the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland... allow[ing] it to “construct, install, maintain, and operate” military bases across Greenland, “house personnel” and “control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft..”
AND Greenland is one of the few areas (outside of the Carolinas) that the USAF has dropped Hydrogen Bombs on!
Freder Frederson said...
WTF are you talking about. Only Napoleon and Hitler tried to invade Russia, both failed miserably. "Only" - objectively false. Japan invaded Russia as well.
I was responding to Achilles post. He was talking about Europeans. Last I checked, Japan is not in Europe. Quaester apparently knows a lot about Sweden, and he justifiably corrected me. And Charles XII failed miserably too.
You are kinda dumb so I will help you out.
You think Europe has invaded Russia twice. That means you are really dumb and ignorant.
Most people who study history realize that Europe has been invading Russia constantly for centuries and that they have always disagreed about borders, sovereignty and spheres of influence. Europe has always thought of Russia as weak and backward. You say the same stupid things about Russia they do.
Now an actually intelligent person who wanted to understand the situation would ask “How many times does Russia think they have been invaded by Europe?”
This question is even harder for the Ukraine first crowd of Neocons here who called me a Putin supporter and a traitor for asking that question.
They refuse to understand that from the Russian POV Biden was clearly invading Russia and that Russia has seen this happen over a dozen times.
Just looked at a map of Greenland for the first time in 40 years. It's not where I remember it. That thing floats.
oops! sorry, i KEEP thinking that Savannah is in South Carolina!
to the best of my (paying attention) judgement..
The USAF has only dropped A-Bombs on South Carolina.
But, Just the Same. Greenland is one of the few places OUTSIDE of the USA, that the USAF has (admitted to) dropped H-Bombs on
"Considering that my mother-in-law burned through almost that much for care during the last five years of her life, I don't think I would take the bet."
And you complain when we call you Fredo.
but are covered by Danish Social Programs like universal, free, healthcare.
Free healthcare is not worth so much in a land without doctors or hospitals.
"It's crazy for Trump and the White House to talk about a military seizure of another country. Full stop."
It's not a country. It's an undefended territory. I think putting Denmark's pride over the protection of 330 million American lives is even more crazy. Which nation has the superior moral right to that land? Also consider that leaving the U.S. with that vulnerability makes the risk of a world destroying nuclear war more likely, and Denmark is in that world. We are all safer with the U.S. controlling Greenland. What price do you put on avoiding "crazy" talk?
For Nevil Shute fans, he wrote a screenplay about Greenland and a Danish(?) slave couple sent to farm there in the 1300s or so. If I sound vague, it is because it has been 25 years since I read it. Here is a review
https://www.nevilshute.org/Reviews/vinland.php
Available via the portal on Kindle for $2.99
Anything by Shute is well worth reading.
John Henry
bagoh20 said, "If I owned land that I felt was taken unfairly the way these land acknowledgements pretend, Id give the damned land back to them and move to the middle of Antarctica or the Sahara, but to do the acknowledgment and then keep it is really some gangster pissing on graves stuff."
Canada is that super-duper PC nice guy everyone has an archetypal familiarity with that mouths platitudes endlessly without considering that someone might someday make them walk the walk.
...Except those roughnecks in Alberta. Albertans are bro-tier.
Per Grok lots of countries (including the US 1918-22) have invaded Russia over the past 1,000 years. I've edited out details to make it more of a list.
"Russia" here refers broadly to East Slavic/Russian-controlled territories; borders and state names evolved over time. Minor raids (e.g., by Crimean Tatars or Ottomans) are excluded in favor of large-scale campaigns. Here's a chronological list of the primary ones:
Mongol Empire (1237–1242) .
Teutonic Knights/Livonian Order (1240–1242)
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1605–1618)
Sweden (1708–1709)
France (1812)
Germany and Austria-Hungary (1914–1918)
Multiple countries (1918–1922) — Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War: Limited occupations by Britain, France, USA, Japan, and others in regions like Archangel, Murmansk, Siberia, and the Far East, primarily anti-Bolshevik but not a full conquest.
Nazi Germany
Other notable incursions include Crimean Khanate/Ottoman raids (e.g., 1571 burning of Moscow) and Japanese actions in the Far East (1905, 1918–1922), but these were more limited.
Freder Frederson said...
All the way from Cuba?
Believe it or not, those guys jump out of planes. They move fast.
Someone mentioned that only European invasions of Russia count. All the countries on the Grok list are European except the US and, probably, the Mongols.
John Henry
If we are going to break new frontiers, like when Americans headed west, we need to keep the concept alive. If we can thrive in Greenland, could we survive and thrive in Mars?
I've advocated offering $1 million to each Greenlander myself, many months back; that's still my recommendation.
Beyond that, I suggest that Greenland's native Inuit and others take note of vast, fellow-Arctic Alaska's (1/5 the size of the entire contiguous U.S.) experience of being a U.S. state; in which the Greenlanders' own historical close relations—the Inuit (i.e., Iñupiaq), Yupik, and Aleut Eskimos of Alaska (similar in numbers to the Inuit of Greenland)—administer, control, and police their own extensive sovereign territories, as they have for many decades (since the Alaska native lands settlement more than a half-century ago).
One might recall that subcontinental-sized Greenland (bigger even than Alaska overall) is in the main enveloped in gigantic ice sheet(s) up to 2 miles deep.
Unlike Antarctica's even more voluminous ice sheet(s), Greenland's can now be seen to be melting, yes, but at a rate which will see the great island completely devoid of permanent ice in something more than 10,000 years. Seriously.
In the meantime, however, Greenland's permanently ice-free parts even today add up to more than 410,000 square km (158,000 sq. mi.)—or larger than the states of California (land area), Montana, or Germany.
It's not a country. It's an undefended territory. I think putting Denmark's pride over the protection of 330 million American lives is even more crazy. Which nation has the superior moral right to that land?
Denmark is a founding member of NATO. An attack against Greenland is an attack on all of NATO, including the U.S. What further defense do you want.
Let me in on the dog pile of Freder’s appalling lack of knowledge of Russian history.
The Western powers (England and France (and maybe a few smaller European powers too) invaded and defeated Russian in the Crimea War.
And as all good comrades (like Freder) know, the Western powers (including the US) invaded Russia and occupied territory during WWI, until the lands were liberated by the glory and might of the Workers and Peasants’ Red Army in 1920 (well after WWI was ended).
Greenland only belongs to Denmark because for a long time nobody wanted it, and then when they did the United States was there to protect Denmark's rights and the whole of Western Europe. Without the U.S. Denmark would not have Greenland. More likely Germany would.
Lem Vibe Bandit said...
If we are going to break new frontiers, like when Americans headed west, we need to keep the concept alive. If we can thrive in Greenland, could we survive and thrive in Mars?
Greenland is a tropical paradise compared to mars. Antarctica is a tropical paradise compared to mars.
I do not understand why anyone wants to live there. It might be fun to visit but round trips to mars will be years long adventures.
Readering said...
It's crazy for Trump and the White House to talk about a military seizure of another country. Full stop.
Even if it's to instill the thought of Russia or China doing it? Because, in the end, who's strong enough and will have to expend the blood and treasure needed to stop them? Denmark?
Freder Frederson said...
Denmark is a founding member of NATO. An attack against Greenland is an attack on all of NATO, including the U.S. What further defense do you want.
Sovereign control over the land in order to build and maintain defensive installations that would facilitate an intercontinental ballistic missile defense system without interference from an unserious juvenile country that has never defended itself or provided any real assistance to our country.
Thanks Field Marshall Fredo.
I really appreciate the humorous break from all the serious discussion here.
Readering said...
It's crazy for Trump and the White House to talk about a military seizure of another country. Full stop.
We are entering a dangerous future where this kind of morally juvenile retardation will get millions of people killed.
I don’t know Achilles, I’d be willing to live on Mars for my last few years of life. I’m sure it would provide good information on future settlements and other necessary information.
I truly believe the human race needs to diversify across plants. One big asteroid would wipe out human life. A smaller asteroid would send humans back to hunter gatherers.
Diversity is our strength!
Freder Frederson (the Boy Genius) said...
..Denmark is a founding member of NATO. An attack against Greenland is an attack on all of NATO, including the U.S. What further defense do you want..
So, Freder?
you ARE saying, that IF the United States took Greenland..
that the United States would be required, BY LAW; to go to war;
against the United States?
Numerous People here have accused YOU of being intellectually challenged..
Were they correct?
“Trump's administration despite being compelled by law to release all the Epstein files un-redacted unless the reason is to protect the victims have released 0.6% of the files heavily redacted to protect Trump.
Kak just can’t help himself.
It’s called deflection. Deflection is a behavioral defense mechanism: when someone shifts attention away from something uncomfortable, avoids blame, or changes the subject to protect their self-image or avoid stress.
The Lefties here use it all the time. But Kak is the Master.
I live in Nevada, same landscape as Mars, but much warmer. I'm satisfied just viewing the photos of Mars from here, but only weighing 72 lbs. there and jumping 4 feet high with a 3 second hang time would be awesome.
Bagoh 11:04
Agreed!
It would be interesting to see what a native Inuit family would do with $5 million. Take the whole family whale watching?
If taking over Greenland - officially - Helped Ukraine - the left would still oppose it.
Because Trump hate trumps.
Someone mentioned that only European invasions of Russia count.
I never mentioned that. Achilles limited his comment to Europe. I missed Sweden, so have me shot. The rest are not really relevant to Achilles contention that Europeans are trying to invade Russia. And not to nitpick, like you all are reveling in, but the Allied intervention in Russia after WWI hardly counts as invasion. We were there to help the White Russians get rid of the Reds. You might as well claim that England and the U.S. invaded France in WWI.
So, Freder?
you ARE saying, that IF the United States took Greenland..
that the United States would be required, BY LAW; to go to war;
against the United States?
According to the NATO charter, technically yes. But there is precedent (Turkey and Greece), and NATO just stayed out of those ones. I think the contention I was referring to was the claim that Greenland is undefended against Non-NATO nations like Russia and China.
The Western powers (England and France (and maybe a few smaller European powers too) invaded and defeated Russian in the Crimea War.
Well then you will have to dog-pile on Grok too. It, too, apparently forgot the Crimean War.
I am sure that Ann is pissed that my original criticism of Achilles (who implied that European Countries are currently invading Russia) has resulted in going so far off topic.
Freder Frederson said...
The rest are not really relevant to Achilles contention that Europeans are trying to invade Russia. And not to nitpick, like you all are reveling in, but the Allied intervention in Russia after WWI hardly counts as invasion. We were there to help the White Russians get rid of the Reds. You might as well claim that England and the U.S. invaded France in WWI.
1/7/26, 11:56 AM
Freder, stop digging your whole. Just admit you made a mistake
So Crimean War where France and Britain invaded Russia in the 1850s is not picking but Sweden invading in the 1600s is a good cop. It is to laugh.
And it is beyond ridiculous to compare the Western Powers (including Ukraine!) invasion of Russia to the Normandy landing is just stupid. Like it or not (and I assume someone of your political persuasion would have approved of the Russian Revolution) the Reds were the legitimate government of Russian at that time.
Next time just to admit you made a mistake. Something like “oops my bad but still my point remains because of xyz.
Oops my bad.
*hole not whole; WWI not normandy.
If you offer them a choice between being Danish or American, what possible advantage is there in becoming American?
It's much easier to set up daycare facilities.
Shorter Mikkel Runge Olesen: "Why buy the Greenland when you can milk the cow for free?"
Freder Frederson said...
Well then you will have to dog-pile on Grok too. It, too, apparently forgot the Crimean War.
1/7/26, 12:19 PM
Now it all makes sense. You’re just shooting your mouth off about things you have no idea about and relying on talking points and AI.
My bad. I thought you were arguing in good faith.
Kevin said, "It's much easier to set up daycare facilities."
SEND ALL SOMALIS TO GREENLAND. They've been appropriately acclimatized in Minnesota. They can babysit walruses when they're not being eaten by polar bears.
Freder, stop digging your whole. Just admit you made a mistake.
I did. But you all just kept piling on, even though my original point was that Achilles is just repeating Russian propaganda. Maybe I should have just said that and left it at that.
And btw, if you are going to pile on at least get it right. I said WWI, I didn't even mention WWII. My point was merely that Allied involvement in the Russian Civil War was not really and invasion. We were there to help the Whites defeat the Reds. And the Soviet government was certainly not the undisputed legitimate government of Russia immediately after WWI.
Now it all makes sense. You’re just shooting your mouth off about things you have no idea about and relying on talking points and AI.
I hate Grok and AI so I wasn't relying on it. Someone else used Grok to list European wars against Russia.
So you think it is unimportant to today’s events that Ukrainians and their western power allies invaded and occupied parts of Russia to topple the recognized Russian government from 1918-1925?
Is Trump even aware of this treaty? (I certainly wasn't) It seems to give the US all that Trump says we need as far as placing military assets there. As for the rare earths, I'm sure we could create some sort of joint economic consortium to mine them. This whole kerfuffle with Denmark about "buying" Greenland is so unnecessary, but that just seems to be the way Trump rolls.
gilbar, you mentioned that Greenland is one of the few places outside of the Carolinas that the USA has dropped atomic bombs on. As a resident of Albuquerque, I have to let you know, this city ALSO had an atomic bomb dropped on it. Story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0gRHgwSGhE
The native Inuit in Greenland already hate their Danish masters. In the 50s and 60s, the Danes attempted to eradicate the native population by involuntarily placing IUDs in their women.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_case
’you ARE saying, that IF the United States took Greenland..
that the United States would be required, BY LAW; to go to war;
against the United States?’
Shirts and skins?
Freder Frederson said...
Freder, stop digging your whole. Just admit you made a mistake.
I did. But you all just kept piling on, even though my original point was that Achilles is just repeating Russian propaganda. Maybe I should have just said that and left it at that.
And people are confused about how to wars are started.
Propaganda is the word you use to describe a point of view that you refuse to accept. Retards like you still think Trump was colluding with Russia.
You can stamp your feet and complain that England and the USA throwing a coup in 2014 to replace the government in Ukraine and then proceeding to try to add Ukraine to NATO wasn’t an invasion.
But Russia absolutely thought it was an invasion.
A lot of Ukrainians are dead now in a war that was easily predictable by any honest person.
It is stupid dishonest morally juvenile turds like you that start wars.
Having Greenland as a US protectorate is in and of itself a defensive move. Not too many hostile nations would give angering Denmark a second thought.
Beasts of England said...
’you ARE saying, that IF the United States took Greenland..
that the United States would be required, BY LAW; to go to war;
against the United States?’
Shirts and skins?
Lets do muricans vs marxists.
’Lets do muricans vs marxists.’
Endorsed.
Maybe they’d be open for a lease to own agreement. 🤷🏼♂️
Denmark went full socialist and are now suffering the consequences. They might want the cash…
You have utterly no idea what you’re talking about. Denmark regularly produces annual government surpluses exceeding 1 percent of GDP. In comparison the United States regularly produces annual government deficits exceeding 6 percent of GDP. And Denmark and the United States sit side-by-side on tables of GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity. Denmark is a very small, very rich country.
Denmark isn't full Socialist, they're a constitutional kingdom with very high tax rates and they manage to keep their population's happiness levels equally high. It's a remarkably successful place, that way. I think I've read somewhere that they decided against the wholesale importation of third world immigrants though - so they're still a high-trust type society, unlike their neighbors (Sweden), who now consequently enjoy routine gang violence, shootings and bombings, no-go neighborhoods, and rampant sex crimes against their women. Like everywhere else, they know who to thank - they're just not mad enough to do anything about it, yet.
"You might as well claim that England and the U.S. invaded France in WWI."
Well just Yesterday buwaya claimed that the Russia-England-Austria attempt to drive the French out of Switzerland was a "Russian invasion of Switzerland" and that the Russia attempt to drive the Muslim Ottoman occupiers out of Moldavia was a "Russian invasion of Moldavia" and when the Russians backed down, BTW, the English and the French, smelling weakness, invaded Crimea, with the exact same goals as the current Ukrainian conflict, you can read about it in Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor's book, BTW, the goal is the same as then, to deny Russia access to the Black Sea
In fact, two other actions taken under Obama had directly to do with starting wars to drive Russia out of important naval bases, Syria, and Libya.
Oh, but both of those wars were of course fully justified on humanitarian grounds, just don't do a google search on massacres of Christians in Syria since our guy won, or what happened to Libya, and the millions of refugees that ended up in Europe, and guess what, they don't feel all that grateful that their homes were destroyed.
So Freder isn't against war, he's just against war when Trump is involved.
Had Great Britain taken the Confederacy's side and entered the Civil War, I think that it might have been viewed as an invasion by many, just sayin'.
And BTW, there has been a civil war ongoing in Ukraine since the coup in 2014, and the Donbas refused to recognize the new government we installed, so by Freder's logic, there is no invasion of Ukraine by Russia. So what is his problem?
You have utterly no idea what you’re talking about. Denmark regularly produces annual government surpluses exceeding 1 percent of GDP
You are rehashing the joy of a kid with a stolen credit card stage of Socialism, not recent news…mow they’re entering the rising poverty, immigration issues, crime stage of socialist collapse. Go see for yourself instead of what you recall from a decade ago. Even Grok says so, and we all know here at Althouse Grok knows and tells all…
"what possible advantage is there in becoming American?"
For some reason there is a lot of global demand. We can't even keep the benefits in stock.
You think all this Greenland talk is organic? WAKE UP SHEEPLE!
Greenland 2: Migration starts this Friday.
You are rehashing the joy of a kid with a stolen credit card stage of Socialism, not recent news…mow they’re entering the rising poverty, immigration issues, crime stage of socialist collapse.
I think you’re confusing Denmark and Sweden.
I love end-of-the-world science fiction. A lot of it skips over the really scary part where there are still lots people and everybody is starving and trying to fend off each other. They usually go from the disaster happening to a time when most people are already gone. I'm not a psychopath, well maybe a little, but I think that dynamic stage of conflict and survival among desperate normal humans is the most interesting and the part I fear most. You will have to kill a lot of people to survive, maybe people you know, maybe people you love.
Jaq said...
And BTW, there has been a civil war ongoing in Ukraine since the coup in 2014, and the Donbas refused to recognize the new government we installed, so by Freder's logic, there is no invasion of Ukraine by Russia. So what is his problem?
1/7/26, 2:29 PM
Ouch!
Down goes Freder! Down goes Freder!
—Zombie Howard Cosell
My buddy said the 82nd Airborne just landed in Greenland.
That made me laugh.
Louise B said...
..As a resident of Albuquerque, I have to let you know, this city ALSO had an atomic bomb..
oh Yeah! they dropped A-bombs ALL OVER the place (including British Columbia, AND Morocco)..
But there are ALL THAT MANY places, where the USAF lost H-Bombs
Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Spain, Greenland..
to name a few.
Okay! Okay! The USAF did loose a fair number of H-Bombs too;
but not ALL THAT MANY were dropped on foreign countries
You think healthcare is expensive now, just wait till it's free, and rationed.
The U.S. has such a free hand in Greenland that it can pretty much do what it wants.
There’s something the US needs but doesn’t have, or we wouldn’t be pressing the issue.
Mikkel??!! I know Mikkel! He studied in Madison when I was in grad school! He rented an apartment in the Vilas neighborhood with a joint friend.
https://pure.diis.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/cv/34b7c2d1-c142-419e-8fcf-31a8b7bc9341?locale=en_GB
Earnest Prole said...
You are rehashing the joy of a kid with a stolen credit card stage of Socialism, not recent news…mow they’re entering the rising poverty, immigration issues, crime stage of socialist collapse.
I think you’re confusing Denmark and Sweden.
At this point you can just put Europe in one big bucket.
They are a bunch of whiny juveniles who depend on us for protection and shouldn't be taken seriously or as an example for anything.
bagoh20 said...
You will have to kill a lot of people to survive, maybe people you know, maybe people you love.
Be around Christians and maybe Mormons.
They have reasons to be civil other than just a fear of the guns you have.
There was one Morman that we probably owe. Our freedom to: JOHN BROWNING.
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