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chris_gerribI am convinced that Trump wants to annex Greenland because 1) it looks big on a map and 2) he likes playing dominance games. There is no strategic plan and this is not a distraction from something else. Trump is like an excitable dog - every time a squirrel (or a moving leaf, or a shadow) shows up he goes chasing after it. This fact has not stopped the "smarter" elements of MAGA to attempt to retcon (SF-speak for "make shit up after the fact") a logical reason. Said reasons boil down to two ideas, which I will address here and point to for future reference.
Idea #1 is that we need Greenland for national defense. Somebody (China and/or Russia) will occupy Greenland and use it against us. This is bogus because:
1) Russia doesn't have a navy capable of doing that.
2) China would have to sail their navy around the US and Canada through the Bering Strait.
3) We already have a defense agreement with Denmark, have a base there, and can add more bases if we want to. (Note - we've drawn down our forces there from several thousand to ~150 since the Cold War.)
4) If we want / need to use Greenland for additional anti-ballistic missile bases, please see point #3 above.
Idea #2 is that we need Greenland's mineral wealth. Again, since we are allied with Denmark, there's nothing stopping us from getting mining permits. What is stopping us is that Greenland is 95% glacier. Mining there is hella hard and expensive. Again because of ice, there's only a 3 to 4 month window for which to bring cargo ships in and out. Miss the window and miss a year of revenue. In short, we're not mining there because it doesn't make economic sense to do so.
Bottom line - Trump wants it for the same reason he wanted a gold-plated toilet - it looks cool.
Idea #1 is that we need Greenland for national defense. Somebody (China and/or Russia) will occupy Greenland and use it against us. This is bogus because:
1) Russia doesn't have a navy capable of doing that.
2) China would have to sail their navy around the US and Canada through the Bering Strait.
3) We already have a defense agreement with Denmark, have a base there, and can add more bases if we want to. (Note - we've drawn down our forces there from several thousand to ~150 since the Cold War.)
4) If we want / need to use Greenland for additional anti-ballistic missile bases, please see point #3 above.
Idea #2 is that we need Greenland's mineral wealth. Again, since we are allied with Denmark, there's nothing stopping us from getting mining permits. What is stopping us is that Greenland is 95% glacier. Mining there is hella hard and expensive. Again because of ice, there's only a 3 to 4 month window for which to bring cargo ships in and out. Miss the window and miss a year of revenue. In short, we're not mining there because it doesn't make economic sense to do so.
Bottom line - Trump wants it for the same reason he wanted a gold-plated toilet - it looks cool.
