Yes, Trump’s Bold Greenland Plan Could Actually Work

Summary

• Historical Precedence: The idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland has historical backing, with previous U.S. presidents like Andrew Johnson and Harry Truman showing interest in buying the island.
• International Law: Greenland has a right under international law to choose its future, as it was once a non-self-governing territory listed under Chapter XI of the UN Charter. This status implies that Greenland could decide to align more closely with the U.S.
• Geopolitical Benefits: Greenland’s strategic location between the U.S. and Russia, its long Atlantic coasts, and the potential opening of the Northwest Passage make it geopolitically significant.
• Resource Wealth: The island is rich in rare earth metals, crucial for modern technologies, particularly those involving national security.
• Legal Options: Various models exist for how Greenland could become closer to the U.S., from outright purchase if it declares independence to forming a compact similar to those with Micronesia or the Marshall Islands.
• Trump’s Strategy: President-elect Trump’s interest in Greenland is seen as part of a broader strategy to reorient U.S. foreign policy towards securing influence in the Western Hemisphere and countering moves by China and Russia in the Arctic.
• Public and Political Reaction: Despite initial skepticism and opposition from Denmark and Greenland’s leadership, there are arguments that a closer relationship with the U.S. could be beneficial, especially considering Greenland’s push towards independence and economic development.
• Potential for Success: The article concludes that Trump’s plan has the potential to succeed given the historical, legal, and strategic contexts, suggesting that international law and U.S. constitutional practices could accommodate such a move.

Article

Greenland coming closer to the United States has solid precedents in both international law and our own constitutional system.

President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States explore a closer relationship with Greenland — up to and including that immense territory, the largest island in the world, joining the Union — epitomizes his out-of-the-box thinking. President Trump deployed that sort of thinking to powerful effect in his first term in office. It’s how he tackled such seemingly insoluble problems as energy supply, immigration, and Middle East peace.

The president-elect’s Greenland suggestion has triggered predictable hyperventilation and pearl-clutching among editorial page writers and elites in Washington, D.C., and foreign capitals alike. However, the United States getting closer to Greenland has obvious geopolitical benefits — and less obvious but strong grounding in international law. Let’s unpack the geopolitics and then the international law.

Greenland holds a crucial position facing the Arctic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean is a focal point of growing contestation over the vast natural resources that its seabed contains. Russia is maneuvering aggressively to dominate the Arctic, a challenge to the United States that Greenland would help meet.

Greenland itself contains important wealth, not least of all rare earth metals. China seeks to corner the market on rare earth metals because these are indispensable to a range of technologies critical to American national security. Greenland would help with rare earth metals. […]

— Read More: thefederalist.com