11th Airborne soldiers training near Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo: Pfc. Brandon Vasquez, US Army.
The United States may have come even closer to invading Greenland than most people realize. On January 18, the Associated Press reported that the Pentagon put two battalions from the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska, on standby to deploy. These troops were said to be for deployment to Minnesota, but as retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling stated, this “makes no sense.” Hertling pointed out that there are several military bases closer to Minnesota than Alaska. Further, the 11th Airborne Division, which is nicknamed the “Arctic Angels,” specializes in air assault techniques for the Arctic and Indo-Pacific.
It makes more sense, as some analysts speculated, for the “Arctic Angels” to be used to invade and take control of Greenland. That mission would actually use their specialized skills. Further, the 11th Airborne Division was one of the forces that occupied Japan during World War II.
Some might argue that Trump was just using the threat of military action to gain leverage, but this isn’t a logical argument. A threat can only exert leverage if there is the real possibility of acting on the threat. Trump has stated, “I don’t need international law,” and he violated international law with the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. It would be wrong to assume that he wouldn’t violate it again in taking control of Greenland.
Also, the fact that his actions against Greenland have already made the NATO alliance more insecure shows that he is not willing to subordinate his ambitions to the needs of the alliance. The Trump “Donroe Doctrine” vision, where the United States controls the Western Hemisphere, Russia controls Europe, and China controls Asia, in fact, requires the ending of the NATO alliance.
For the moment, it appears that President Trump is no longer considering taking Greenland by force. Maybe he has given up on his goal to plant an American flag there altogether; but Trump is unpredictable. He often says one thing and then does something different. Since Trump first expressed interest in acquiring Greenland in 2019, he may return to the issue again in the future.
There is no good reason for Trump’s obsession with taking Greenland. As many have noted, “the United States already enjoys sweeping military access in Greenland.” There is little that the US would want to do militarily that it cannot already do. Greenland is also open to business deals about mining its rare earth minerals.
While there is no benefit to the United States in taking Greenland, there may be personal benefits for Trump. US ownership of Greenland could be more profitable to people with close ties to Trump who are interested in exploiting Greenland’s minerals. It’s fair to assume that some of these profits would also flow to Trump’s businesses. Consider how Trump has been able to use his power and ability to change crypto regulations to make hundreds of millions in his various crypto businesses.
There is no national interest in the United States owning Greenland. The American people expressed little support for acquiring Greenland and strong opposition to taking it by force, yet it seems like we came incredibly close to doing so.
The decline in the financial markets was the only thing that stopped Trump from taking Greenland. It is important to understand that “the markets” are wealthy investors. We no longer have staff in the White House constraining Trump’s worst impulses. The Republicans in Congress have abdicated their responsibility to govern. The Supreme Court has given Trump more power than any other president in US history. We are living in a scary world where the only feeble guardrail standing against a runaway-train presidency is wealthy investors.
The American people, however, still have the power to change this. They can elect better leaders who are willing to serve the people and not just themselves or the powerful. They can also take to the streets and demand that politicians listen to them.
This first appeared on CEPR.
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This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Algernon Austin.