CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Trump Tries to Turn Greenland Into Okinawa

Kadena Air Base. Photograph Source: Sonata – CC BY-SA 3.0

In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia established a revolutionary principle that has anchored global order for nearly four centuries: the legal equality of sovereign states and the sanctity of their borders. It was a practical accommodation to reality, designed to end an era of chaotic, faith-based warfare by ensuring that every state, regardless of its size or strength, held exclusive jurisdiction over its own territory.

Today, however, that foundation is being systematically dismantled. In its place is a new “illiberal diplomacy” where sovereignty is no longer a right but a commodity to be bartered, leased, or coerced in a high-stakes marketplace of great-power interests.

The most vivid illustration of this shift is the ongoing crisis over Greenland. What began as a seemingly erratic social media demand has matured into a sophisticated strategy of strategic denial. By February 2026, the White House had pivoted from the blunt pursuit of a purchase to what analysts call the Okinawa model. This framework seeks to grant the United States profound, sovereign access to Greenland’s military and mineral resources while leaving the Danish flag flying over the territory.

This approach is essentially the “Okinawa-fication” of the North Atlantic. Just as the United States maintains an indispensable forward-deployed presence on Japanese soil, it now seeks to turn Greenland into a permanent Arctic aircraft carrier. This strategy reached its official zenith on February 11, with the formal activation of the NATO “Arctic Sentry” mission. Although NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has framed this mission as a........

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