Art of the deal / A buyer’s guide to Greenland |
I recently wrote a book countenancing the idea that the United States could buy Greenland, and I have received some very interesting responses. Some are perplexed at the utility of an Australian assessment of Greenland geostrategy (I’m from Canberra); others have admonished me personally for ‘willing into reality’ US ownership of Greenland. All I did was offer a buyer’s guide to an alluring piece of real estate – background that anyone laying claim to this land should know.
Greenland has tantalised Washington since at least 1867. These guys have serious history. Territory between Denmark and the US has changed hands previously – Washington nabbed the Virgin Islands from the Danes in 1917 and inked a piece of paper recognising Danish sovereignty over Greenland to seal the deal.
During the second world war, an opportunity arose. When Denmark fell to Nazi Germany, the US finally made headway in her quest to own Greenland. I have taken one for the team, spending countless days poring over the heartfelt letters between Denmark’s King Christian and US President Roosevelt.
These 1941 cables tell a particularly familiar story. Roosevelt underscored the sanctity of Western Hemispheric security for Washington. He reminded a stroppy King Christian that America would not stand idle and let Greenland fall under adversary occupation. Like today, Denmark held few cards. The US moved into Greenland and never really left.
There is zero logic in Denmark enabling Greenlandic independence
Denmark was miffed when it became apparent that Washington had no plans to pack up and leave Greenland when the war ended. Already on the horizon was the next challenge – the Soviet Union – and this served as a major impetus for both Denmark and the US to set aside brewing unease over long-term Greenland futures.
Still without leverage, the Danes hurried to get Washington to sign another piece of paper – this time a ‘Defense Agreement’ pertaining to Greenland. This 1951 Cold War agreement facilitated, at its peak, almost 50 bases or military installations and runways to counter and track the ‘red menace’, and provided something of a free rein for the US military industrial complex over Greenland. Recently released Danish archives even shed light on the complexities of Denmark’s domestic policy to look the other way and ‘not ask questions’ about the storage, pre-positioning and overflight of........