Donald Trump wants Greenland. Not symbolically, but literally. After the assault on Venezuela\u2019s President Maduro, the U.S. president now presents himself without limits, and Greenland is his next target. He says he needs the island \u201cfor reasons of national security.\u201d His advisers are even more explicit. Greenland could be bought - or simply taken. Stephen Miller, Trump\u2019s influential mouthpiece, says it openly: \u201cNo one will take on the United States over this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What sounds like a threat, however, rests on a real lever. A nearly forgotten Cold War defense agreement already gives Washington far-reaching military rights on the world\u2019s largest island. Signed in 1951 by the United States and Denmark, it allows the Americans to build and operate bases, station troops, and control takeoffs, landings, anchorages, and the movements of ships and aircraft. An update from 2004 also grants Greenland\u2019s government a say - at least on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At present, the U.S. military operates only a single base: Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, once part of an extensive early-warning system. Yet the agreement would allow Washington to massively expand its presence without formal approval. Denmark has no veto power. And even if the agreement calls for \u201cconsultations,\u201d that does not mean \u201cpermission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leading security experts in Denmark and Greenland are sounding the alarm. If Trump really wants it, he can in fact build ports, runways, and military facilities, if necessary by simply notifying Copenhagen. Whether that would be legal is another question. But as Jens Adser Sorensen, a former parliamentary official, puts it: \u201cThe mechanism is there.\u201d In Greenland itself, Trump\u2019s remarks sparked outrage. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said it plainly: \u201cOur country is not for sale.\u201d A poll shows that 85 percent of Greenlanders reject a takeover by the United States. The island has a right to self-determination, and a referendum would be required. But the United States appears determined to increase the pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside the territorial issue is the question of resources. Greenland holds significant deposits of rare earths and other strategic raw materials. Here, too, the United States is seeking to expand its influence. But economic cooperation is one thing. Annexation is another. And that is precisely the impression taking hold among many Europeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Denmark\u2019s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has now made it clear that an attack on Greenland would be an attack on the international order. Other European heads of government have also rallied behind the island, pointing to the existing agreement. \u201cGreenland belongs to its people,\u201d a joint statement reads. Trump\u2019s fixation on Greenland is no joke. It is power politics with historical weapons: old treaties, geopolitical intimidation, and the quiet threat of taking what one wants if necessary. The world should listen very carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n