View Full Version : Greenland, the new U.S. Alaska?
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/08/greenland_the_new_us_alaska.html
The United States? interest in Greenland (https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/27/2/263/805307?redirectedFrom=fulltext) is not new. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward, then of the Andrew Johnson administration, showed interest in purchasing Greenland and Iceland from Denmark. He also negotiated the Alaska Purchase with the Russian Empire for $7.2 million, which was finalized on March 30, 1867. Seward was an ardent expansionist. In the summer of the same year, he was negotiating with Denmark for the acquisition of St. Thomas and St. John (of today's U.S. Virgin Islands), but the treaty, although agreed, was never effected. When it was finalized in January 1917, the selling price was $25 million (the equivalent to $575.61 million in 2018 dollars). In March 1917, the United States took possession of the islands.
There might be also other reasons. For instance, the reason to want total dominion over Greenland in order to gain the power to exclude China. China has also expressed interest in the island for an Atlantic base (https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2019/08/15/sure-not-trump-reportedly-asking-advisors-u-s-can-buy-greenland/) that would put it on America?s and Europe?s doorstep. However, in 2017, Denmark blocked a Chinese attempt to buy an abandoned naval base there, but the Chinese mining interests in the area are expanding (https://thediplomat.com/2019/02/china-steps-up-its-mining-interests-in-greenland/). China plays a long game (https://thediplomat.com/tag/china-arctic-strategy/) and its interest in the Arctic region is notorious.
I like the idea.
We are printing enough fake money, we might as well buy something valuable with it.
BushMasterBoy
08-16-2019, 14:08
I think we should just take it. Like Russia did Crimea. Nobody will fight us over it. What would Leif Ericson do?
Can we trade California for Greenland?
Aloha_Shooter
08-16-2019, 14:36
Can we trade California for Greenland?
+3000
I want to invest heavily in land there exactly 300 feet above the coast. I've been told it'll be a tropical paradise in under 12 years, with a white sandy beach and palm trees. Surely they wouldn't have exaggerated any facts.
We are printing enough fake money, we might as well buy something valuable with it.
+1
It's an exciting thing to think about, but I feel like doing something just to have a "legacy" is dumb.
Can you imagine the butt-hurt from Puerto Rico if the US did acquire Greenland as a state?
Can you imagine the butt-hurt from Puerto Rico if the US did acquire Greenland as a state?
Maybe, not everyone in Puerto Rico wants to be rolled into the US.
Which also brings up the question of, does Greenland want to be part of the US? That's not even mentioned in the article.
StagLefty
08-17-2019, 09:48
Maybe, not everyone in Puerto Rico wants to be rolled into the US.
Which also brings up the question of, does Greenland want to be part of the US? That's not even mentioned in the article.
If they want to be part of the New Green Deal [Sarcasm2]
If they want to be part of the New Green Deal [Sarcasm2]
Oh, that's good. I might steal that one.
If they want to be part of the New Green Deal [Sarcasm2]
That was good. 10 points.
BladesNBarrels
08-17-2019, 10:20
Maybe, not everyone in Puerto Rico wants to be rolled into the US.
Which also brings up the question of, does Greenland want to be part of the US? That's not even mentioned in the article.
The folks in Greenland were quick to say that they thought it was a funny joke.
Then the news moved on to Grandma in the West Bank of Israel saying Trump was a bad guy, she was going to slaughter a lamb for a feast when Granddaughter arrived.
Kidding me? Greenland have natural resources. Danish ain't going to sell.
BladesNBarrels
08-18-2019, 09:01
From CIA's world's fact book:
Greenland's economy depends on exports of shrimp and fish, and on a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government.
but, From Brookings:
Greenland is widely believed to hold excellent potential for a host of natural resources, including zinc, lead, gold, iron ore, heavy and light rare earth elements, copper and oil.
spqrzilla
08-18-2019, 12:27
Denmark is not exploiting any of Greenland's resources and never will. It would actually be smart for Denmark to sell and the US to buy. We already have bases there. There is great strategic value to the area and it would roughly double our territorial claims in the Arctic. The Russians would be pissed off.
From CIA's world's fact book:
Greenland's economy depends on exports of shrimp and fish, and on a substantial subsidy from the Danish Government.
but, From Brookings:
Greenland is widely believed to hold excellent potential for a host of natural resources, including zinc, lead, gold, iron ore, heavy and light rare earth elements, copper and oil.
That's why the Chinese are there.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/07/how-a-potential-chinese-built-airport-in-greenland-could-be-risky-for-a-vital-us-air-force-base/
So when the local government issued a solicitation to build three new airports, the move made sense from a business perspective. The project would be expensive, but would improve commerce and make life on the island easier for its residents.
Then a Chinese company — owned by the government in Beijing, and once blacklisted by the World Bank — put forth a bid, and a simple request for proposals transformed into a project with international diplomatic ramifications.
Denmark, which has final say on national security issues involving Greenland, objected. The government in Greenland then insisted China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which has succesfully worked on large infrastructure projects around the world, would remain one of its finalists for the projects, setting up intense negotiations between two governments.
All this comes as officials across Europe are raising alarm over whether Chinese economic influence on the continent is becoming a national security problem — with Danish officials specifically worried that the partly-government owned company’s interest in Greenland could have a lasting impact on a key American military base located there.
wctriumph
08-18-2019, 16:41
Denmark should sell for a reasonable price with the added income of a % of any natural resource development. Denmark would be in the money forever! No cash out, only cash in.
If the USA buys Greenland, certainly US environmental protections would be in play, it would not be turned into a trash dump. And we could ship the abled body homeless there to work!
BladesNBarrels
08-19-2019, 11:57
... And we could ship the abled body homeless there to work!...
Misnomer?
[Coffee]
Trump cancels Denmark trip after PM says Greenland isn't for sale (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-cancels-denmark-trip-after-pm-says-greenland-isn-t-for-sale/ar-AAG5gX0)
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