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https://theconversation.com/trump-wont-rule-out-force-to-take-greenland-a-country-with-a-complex-colonial-history-246883>
"Donald Trump has long been interested in Greenland becoming part of the United
States. Yesterday, he told reporters he would not rule out using military force
to acquire the Danish territory, saying “we need” it for the “economic
security” of the United States. As he spoke, his son Donald Jr was in
Greenland, on what is described as a private visit.
Last week, Greenland’s prime minister Múte Egede called for independence from
Denmark and for the “shackles of the colonial era” to be broken. Last year, on
December 23, he explicitly rejected Trump’s interest: “Greenland is ours. We
are not for sale and will never be for sale.”
The Danish prime minister similarly dismissed the notion of Trump buying
Greenland as absurd when he first raised it in 2019. Yet, Trump’s fascination
with the Arctic island persists, reflecting broader geopolitical interests in
the region.
As the ice melts, new shipping routes and untapped resources, particularly rare
earth minerals, have elevated Greenland’s strategic importance. It is the site
of one of the world’s largest known rare earth metal deposits. And the
Greenland Institute of Natural Resources reports “huge potential for oil
exploitation in the waters” offshore.
But while Trump’s rhetoric is outlandish, Greenland’s history tells a deeper
story of colonial entanglements, autonomy struggles, and international
manoeuvring.
On the map, Greenland is nearest to Canada, though also very near Nordic
Europe. Canada’s Ellesmere Island lies just 26 km to the north and Iceland is
about 320 km to the southeast. While geographically part of North America,
Greenland has maintained political and cultural ties with Europe, particularly
Norway and Denmark, for over a millennium."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
