Should the United States buy Greenland? Is it even for sale?

President Donald Trump.

President Trump confirmed a story that said he was considering buying Greenland from Denmark. Fox News. President Trump called it a real estate deal and said that Denmark was losing millions of dollars. The President also said he is considering going to visit Greenland and Denmark but the real estate deal itself isn't on the front burner. Greenland has abundant natural resources and is in a critically strategic location. 

For their part, Denmark says Greenland isn't for sale. NBC News. Denmark's Prime Minster, Mette Fredericksen said that Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and not Denmark. Officials in Greenland also said that the island is not for sale. 

My Comment:

It doesn't sound like this is a serious proposal, just something that was being floated. My guess is that someone leaked it and once it got out there. It was probably something that President Trump thought up and hadn't even reached the "putting out feelers" stage. 

That being said, is it a good idea? I think it is. Greenland is way more important than most people realize. It would offer a major base to deter the Russians, and indeed we already have one base there. Gaining control of Greenland would give us an even larger buffer against Russian attacks.

Economically it's also a good deal for America. Greenland has a huge potential for natural resources. There are billions of dollars worth of ore in Greenland and it would also control large fisheries that could be profitable as well. Energy resources, such as coal and uranium, are common there and may become very important in the future. 

Greenland is also important for trade as well. If the global warming people are right, Greenland will be a major trade hub for the Northwest passage. I'm not sure if the Arctic Circle will be free of ice or not but if it does happen even through some of the year, then it will be one of the most important trade routes in the world. Having even more control of it would be a boon for America. 

Still, there is very little interest in selling from Denmark or Greenland. They seem to oppose the idea pretty strongly. Some of it might because President Trump, even if they loved the idea they will oppose it publicly due to the fact that President Trump came up with it. 

That being said though, all the things that I said about why America should buy Greenland are also true for Denmark. Though they are losing money on the territory now that might not always be true in the future. They have non-Trump reasons to oppose a sale even if that seems to be the main thrust of their argument. 

Of course there is the argument that America essentially owns Greenland in the first place. Denmark relies on the United States to defend Greenland and could do practically nothing if we decided to take it. We already have a military base there and it wouldn't take much effort to invade and conquer the country. Doing so right now isn't advisable for obvious reasons, Denmark is our ally, but in the future that might change. People who can't defend their territory tend to lose that territory eventually... 

As for the media, once again their bias is showing. It's pretty clear that this wasn't a serious proposal and more of a thought experiment in it's earliest stages. They acted like Trump was insane to suggest it, but ignore the real world reasons for wanting to do so. They are right that it isn't likely to come to pass but their bias really is out of control.