President Donald Trump wants the United States to own Greenland, viewing the island as a strategic imperative to defending the Arctic against Russia and China. A greater US presence in Greenland would be a bulwark in confronting Beijing and Moscow, which have grown their military operations above the Arctic Circle. Russia has significantly increased the number of its military bases there, and China, as indicated in a 2018 policy paper, now considers itself a “near-Arctic state.” It’s not clear what special legal rights such a designation gives China, but it does reinforce the notion that the Red Dragon has designs on the region.
Greenland – Lightly Populated but Strategic
By way of background, Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, responsible for its foreign relations, homeland defense, and finances. The population is between 56,700 and 57,000, with nearly 90% being native Greenlandic Inuit, similar to the Alaskan Inuit (Eskimos). The Danish government subsidizes Greenland with a block grant averaging $647 million annually, or approximately $10,800 per person.
As Liberty Nation News has explained, “Lately, there has been an increase in Chinese and Russian maritime combat training and combined exercises over and in the Bering Sea, which often penetrate the US Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) extending beyond US territorial waters.” In August, the US Coast Guard News reported, “The US Coast Guard detected and responded to two Chinese research vessels operating in the US Arctic and is currently monitoring a total of five similar vessels in or near the US Arctic.” Trump is right that the threats from Russia and China are real.
At a Swedish national security conference, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich explained that the Russians and the Chinese are conducting surveys essential to military operations in the Arctic region. According to Defense News, Grynkewich told the conference attendees, “It’s not for peaceful purposes … They’re not studying the seals and the polar bears. They’re out there doing bathymetric surveys and trying to figure out how they can counter NATO capabilities on and under the sea.” Additionally, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, in its Intelligence Outlook 2025, explained, “Russia is under pressure from, among other things, Western sanctions and will therefore seek to deepen its Arctic cooperation with China and allow China greater access to the Russian Arctic.” This is consistent with the US intelligence community’s analyses. “The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s annual threat assessment in 2025 also detailed Russian and Chinese ambitions in the Arctic, specifically stating that both US foes had specific strategic interests in Greenland,” Just the News observed.
President Trump believes that Greenland is critical to US national security for the new Golden Dome Missile Defense for America, which the Department of War is building. Clearly, a robust early warning system would be essential. Having that capability in Greenland would give the United States extra time to launch interceptors to down incoming missiles. In a Truth Social post on Jan. 14, the president said, “The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!”
Trump does not believe that NATO would be up to the task of defending Greenland should a combined Sino-Russian force decide to establish a presence there. Having a substantial US military missile defense shield, including an expanded early warning system and ground-based interceptors, would push detection, identification, tracking, and destruction of incoming ballistic missiles from Russia or China farther away from the continental United States.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview on Fox Business during the Davos World Economic Forum, made the strategic case:
“The president is worried that if there were an incursion into Greenland, the US would be called upon to defend Greenland. Greenland is becoming more and more attractive for foreign conquest, and he very strongly believes that it must be part of the United States to prevent a conflict, rather than getting the US engaged and exposed into a hot conflict.”
During the interview, Bessent did not rule out taking Greenland by force but deferred commenting on such a move for President Trump to discuss when he attends the World Economic Forum, saying, “The president has a very strong view on Western Hemispheric security and believes the US should not outsource our national security.”
Trump has threatened tariffs on European nations that oppose US control of Greenland, believing the levies will bring them around to his way of thinking. Bessent’s final caution was, “I tell everyone, ‘sit back, take a deep breath. Do not retaliate. Do not retaliate.’ The president will be here [Jan. 21], and he will get his message across.”
A Shared History
At the peak of the Cold War, the United States had numerous bases in Greenland associated with Distant Early Warning line stations to detect intercontinental ballistic missile attacks from the Soviet Union. The primary installation in Greenland was Thule Air Base (renamed Pituffik Space Base and assigned to the US Space Force), which, in its prime, supported up to 10,000 personnel. Today, it is the only active US military installation in Greenland, with a population of 150-200 permanent service members, supporting missile warning, surveillance, and associated missions. Its small size, however, belies its significance. Danish defense analyst Peter Ernstved Rasmussen told The New York Times, “It is quite literally the outermost eye of American defense. Pituffik is where the US can detect a launch, calculate the trajectory, and activate its missile defense systems. It’s irreplaceable.”
Nonetheless, critics of the Trump administration claim that controlling the island is not necessary for the Golden Dome. They assert, according to Barron’s, “Greenland Is Helpful, but Not Vital, for US Missile Defense.” But that’s the wrong answer. When it comes to defeating a nuclear missile attack, being “helpful” is vital.
Getting Greenland into US hands is not going to be easy; the Danish and Greenland governments are strongly opposed. However, ongoing discussions between the United States and Denmark are attempting to iron out a mutually agreeable solution. The island’s geography makes an undeniable case for Greenland serving as a fortress against Russian and Chinese military operations in the Arctic, begging the question: Whose possession of Greenland would ensure the goal of keeping the United States safe from a missile attack?
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The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
