A Trump Condominium for Greenland

Originally published on the Wall Street Journal

President Trump told “the incredible people of Greenland” on Tuesday that “if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.” If Danish statesmen are canny enough to propose it, there is a solution that would be a win for Denmark and Greenland as well as the U.S. And it might vault Copenhagen to the enviable position of Washington’s closest European partner.

Danish attachment to Greenland rests on history, sentiment and geopolitics. Blunt U.S. overtures to gain sway over Greenland trample all of these, generating a reflexive Danish resistance.

Yet America has a legitimate national interest in Greenland. As an Arctic power and the leading power of the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. has a direct stake in control of the eastern outlet to the increasingly open Northwest Passage. Russia’s assertiveness across the Arctic and China’s self-designation as a “near Arctic” power mean neither Washington nor the rest of the West can ignore the strategic sea lane that passes Greenland. The island’s economic ties with Denmark haven’t fully realized the potential of the land and its people. Freer access to as large a market and investment hub as America would do far more, while giving the U.S. access to stupendous national resources such as rare-earth minerals and oil.

Read the Full Article on the Wall Street Journal