OPINION:
President Trump’s idea to buy Greenland is neither new nor crazy. The U.S. has made several attempts to buy the island, going back to 1867. That was the year we bought Alaska from Russia. We attempted to buy it again in 1910. At the time, we were also attempting to buy the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
The Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony until 1917, when Denmark sold them to the United States for $25 million in gold and they became the U.S. Virgin Islands. Denmark made the sale primarily for strategic naval reasons related to the Panama Canal. The islands’ economy, heavily reliant on slave labor for sugar production, struggled after slavery’s abolition, leading to Denmark’s desire to off-load the land.
The U.S. occupied Greenland during World War II, when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. In fact, we didn’t leave Greenland until a year or so after the war ended, much to Denmark’s chagrin.
Since then, the U.S. has had at least one military base in Greenland. In 1946, the U.S. again (but secretly) offered to buy Greenland. Denmark rejected the offer. Greenland has been under the protection of NATO since 1949.
Nevertheless, in 1955, the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed acquiring Greenland. Mr. Trump has proposed during both of his presidencies that the U.S. should take over Greenland.
Cmdr. WAYNE L. JOHNSON
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy (retired)
Alexandria, Virginia
Please read our comment policy before commenting.