What Does Mr. Trump Want in Greenland?

The issue of Greenland continues to ebb and flow in the news and the political hysteria that responds negatively to everything that President Donald Trump proposes – some of it mundane and some of it grandiose. Mr. Trump’s stated intention to acquire Greenland falls in the latter category but the rage remains equal across the mundane and the grandiose. You can never be quite sure whether Mr. Trump says things because he is dead serious about it or he just want to see heads explode amongst the Democrats and the mainstream media – usually one in the same.

Mr. Trump first mentioned acquiring Greenland during his first term.* It was met by a firm and dismissive njet from the Danish government which technically owns Greenland** but which has generally ignored it and its citizens. It took until Mr. Trump’s second term before anybody began to look seriously at the reasons for acquiring Greenland – massive petroleum reserves, national security (both offensive and defensive) and strategic minerals, including rare earth minerals. Now you can add to that a prime location – because of the cooling properties of its intense cold climate – for the massive computer farms necessary to power artificial intelligence and data storage. At one time the United States had nearly a dozen military bases in Greenland mostly dedicated to early warning radar systems and the threat of an attack by Russia (and now China). But now technically superior satellites have replaced those radar systems and the United States has closed all but one of those military bases.

But why does Mr. Trump insist on acquiring Greenland? In response to realizing that Mr. Trump wasn’t just toying with exploding Democrat heads and that he was dead serious, the Danish government has said that the United States could have a free hand in placing military bases and developing Greenland’s natural resources – all we have to do is ask.

And therein lies the rub. Greenland is not only a protectorate of Denmark, but its citizens are subject to the rules of the European Union (EU). So asking Denmark for anything is a long and convoluted process in which any member of the EU can throw a monkey wrench into the works. That includes the “surrender monkeys” in France, the Russia reliant nations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. And while the Islamic Republic of England is no longer a part of the EU, Ireland is and Scotland is working on becoming one too. The point is that Europe is a mess politically, economically and militarily and why anyone would invite that mess into the strategic decisions of the United States is beyond me.

So has Mr. Trump painted himself into a corner here?

Look, Mr. Trump is the master of the deal. He never begins the process of a deal until he lays the ground work for what he really wants. And he never leads the negotiations by putting his last, best offer as his opening offer. In contrast, a successions of presidents leading back to at least former President George H.W. Bush did precisely that. And former President Barack Obama and the internationally disgraced Joe Biden were the worst. Most often those presidents did not intend to start those negotiations that way, they routinely allowed themselves to be manipulated into giving up discretion by feeling compelled to provide answers to the speculation of the press and their political opponents; e.g you wouldn’t really invade Venezuela would you? You wouldn’t really allow the poor to go without food or medical access, would you? By the time you respond to the “parade of horribles” you have eliminated all of your negotiating alternatives and you are left with your last, best offer to be your opening offer. Every lawyer worth his/her salt knows this. Given the number of members of Congress with law degrees***, you would think that they would understand this too, but it’s obvious they don’t. And that is why, when asked by those talking heads, Mr. Trump uniformly responds, We’ll have to wait and see.

Be that as it may, Mr. Trump practices the art of the deal with zeal. So what does Mr. Trump really want? Well, given that I can speculate with the same degree of ignorance that all of the media and members of Congress muster, let me suggest that it has little to do with actual ownership of Greenland and everything o do with being able to use Greenland without having to play “mother, may I” with Denmark or any other European country. And for that I applaud Mr. Trump for holding tight to a reasonable solution.

There is a model for accomplishing that that frees Greenland from the noblesse oblige indifference of Denmark and the diplomatic and economic mess that is Europe and places Greenland as an independent nation with strong military, economic and technological ties to the United States. There are already examples in Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands. It is called a compact of free association which leaves each nation free to engage with any other nation while being overwhelmingly dependent on military and economic ties to the United States. It would be the moral equivalent of cutting your children loose to pursue their dreams but maintaining a subsidy for their lifestyles that inherently requires them to pay attention to what you are saying. It’s a balance but it works with these three island nations and could work with Greenland. And most importantly it meets what Mr. Trump wants most – a disconnect from the military and economic mess in Europe. Which is necessary for Mr. Trump to negotiate economic, military and technological deals with Greenland and its government.

See how easy that could be. But if you hate Mr. Trump you are uninterested in any working solution simply because your Trump Derangement Syndrome clouds reason and rationality in seeking a solution.

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* Which is well before Mr. Trump was denied the Nobel Peace Prize this past year – the current dullard speculation by Congressional Democrats that Mr. Trump wants Greenland as revenge because he was passed over for the Nobel. Sorry but the calendar puts the lie to that speculation.

**While Denmark has allowed Greenland to be self-governing it still technically owns it and is in a position to influence its decision directly or by withholding the subsidies that it provides Greenland annually.

***I make a distinction between those having law degrees and those who are lawyers. Putting a degree to work in a competitive market is far more difficult than simply obtaining the degree. It’s the same difference as between “book smart” and “street smart.”