The hooraw about Greenland sure has been making some headlines lately. There are good reasons; Greenland and Iceland are the crowns of the North Atlantic, in much the same way that Alaska commands the North Pacific. In any future northwest passage trade routes, just take a look at a globe, over the North Pole looking down, and you will easily see the strategic position Greenland occupies.
President-elect Donald Trump has been talking a lot about buying Greenland, and while the Kingdom of Denmark doesn’t seem interested, he’s still pushing the idea. But now a new voice is weighing in – former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, who served in the first Trump administration, is likewise advocating for a U.S. purchase of Greenland. But he’s also suggesting making it part of Alaska.
Wait, what?
In an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” O’Brien described Greenland as a “highway from the Arctic all the way to North America” and noted that the autonomous country, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, will become increasingly important as the climate warms in the coming years.
“It’s strategically very important to the Arctic, which is going to be the critical battleground of the future because, as the climate gets warmer, the Arctic is going to be a pathway that maybe even cuts down on the usage of the Panama Canal,” O’Brien said.
All of that is accurate; Greenland’s strategic importance is only going to increase in the coming years. Of course, the United States is already obligated to defend Greenland; Greenland is a Danish possession, and Denmark is part of the NATO alliance.
Here’s the onion:
Alternatively, O’Brien said, if Denmark does not want to pay the U.S. for its defense, the U.S. can take the territory off its hands.
“They can let us buy Greenland from [Denmark], and Greenland can become part of Alaska. I mean, the native people in Greenland are very closely related to the people of Alaska, and we will make it a part of Alaska,” O’Brien said.
Speaking not only as an Alaskan but as RedState’s most popular Alaskan correspondent (also the only Alaskan correspondent), I can only say, not only no, but hell no. Not to the buying of Greenland, but to the bit about making it part of Alaska.
The first layer of this stinker is the idea that, because both northern Alaskan natives and Greenland natives are part of the broad Inuit culture, that somehow makes this a good idea – well, that’s just hogwash. Never mind the rather strange assumption that native Greenlanders would have the same interests and expectations as native Alaskans just because of their ethnicity, but native Alaskans aren’t all part of the Inuit peoples; there are also the Athabaskan tribes, who are genetically and linguistically distinct from the Inuit.
The second layer is Alaska as a whole. Alaska already has a unique culture. Most places do, granted. But Greenlanders, being influenced by Denmark and the nations of Europe, are not likely to share many of the political expectations of Alaskans. Most Alaskans like things the way they are and want to keep them that way.
This just plain isn’t a good idea.
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If somehow Denmark comes around to Greenland becoming an American possession, and if Greenlanders agree to it – one would think some kind of plebiscite on the matter would be necessary – then fine. Make it a territory. Make it a possession, like Puerto Rico. Lean into it towards becoming a state, even. Maybe Lisa Murkowski could run for a Senate seat from Greenland and leave Alaska. That would be a plus.
But making Greenland part of Alaska? No.
