Should the US Invade Greenland (Denmark) & Panama

Hypothetically, if we just set up a base on Greenland, the Danish would have to choose how to respond. The setting up would be completely unopposed I'd imagine. If you set up shop in Northern Greenland nobody is gonna be present to oppose it.

This would be like the now rare initation of hostility in tribal worlds, where borders are so porous they don't meaningfully exist. No hope of preventing entry, so the "occupied" only really chooses how to respond after the fact.

I imagine the Danish would do diplomacy. The Danes, though, would send in soldiers ordered to engage. Which would actually make Trump look really bad, even in MAGA world, because Americans and Danes shooting at one another is crazy beyond tolerance.
 
Hypothetically, if we just set up a base on Greenland, the Danish would have to choose how to respond.
But you already have a base on Greenland.
 
I personally don't think that Denmark would send soldiers, if there is even a theoretical chance they would be fired upon by the US.
Denmark is a member of Nato. US, on the other hand, virtually is Nato.
If the US does decide to annex parts of Greenland, the only certain thing is that no Eu country can prevent it (and we should also examine whether many Eu countries would even care).

All the above are distinct from whether the US is likely to try to annex part of Greenland.
 
Yes, you do. Since Truman, back when the Allies would just invade and dispossess anyone, including Iceland, Iran, Diego García, Finland, etc.
 
If the US does decide to annex parts of Greenland, the only certain thing is that no Eu country can prevent it (and we should also examine whether many Eu countries would even care
They'd stand alone, and would have to accept defeat after a very brief and low intensity skirmish. That actually would be politically costly for Trump, and he might not be willing to pay that cost if it's guaranteed in advance. As deterrence it would have an effect.

The thing about Trump, with most of his "big" ideas, is that he talks tough, but actions show he is actually fairly risk averse personally. He talks big, faces institutional pressure, and then usually walks back. Nobody notices because he's already onto the next "big" thing.

Ukraine is a good example. "We will force the Ukrainians to the table" quietly turned into "...yeah arms shipments gonna continue". If the Danish actually stand firm in commitment to institutions, they hold.
Yes, you do. Since Truman, back when the Allies would just invade and dispossess anyone, including Iceland, Iran, Diego García, Finland, etc.
Tierra del Fuego is next.

(If we don't have a base there already)
 
^^ Space port and an ICBM early warning system in Thule.

Make a ridiculous offer and then gradually work backwards to settle on something sane, that's the MO. Obviously, Trump is not going to invade Greenland, he is not going to buy Greenland, because Greenland is the kind of lady that's not for sale. Trump wants the authority to divert Chinese and Russian ships away from Greenland. (or, whatever else is meant by national security concerns). He might want, to a lesser extent, new favourable deals in mining and space industries. All that does not require buying, annexing, etc. Marine authority and other privileges can be given by Greenland parliament to the USA as remuneration for helping to break away from Denmark.
 
he is not going to buy Greenland, because Greenland is the kind of lady that's not for sale.
Why not? Bribe each Greenlander one million USD and an American passport to vote "yes" for the referendum and then relocate to the US. It's just US$50 billion.

Once Greenland is vacated, US corporations and armed forces can destroy and mine everything there without regard because nobody lives there anymore.
 
Money! Just take the million bucks and live comfortably somewhere for the rest of your life. Obviously stay away from Nordic countries.
 
Why not? Bribe each Greenlander one million USD and an American passport to vote "yes" for the referendum and then relocate to the US. It's just US$50 billion.

Once Greenland is vacated, US corporations and armed forces can destroy and mine everything there without regard because nobody lives there anymore.
well. it's not the ‘80s, I'm not sure $1 million is worth it.
 
I think you’re better off in Denmark, who on earth wants to live in the US ?
I would, I miss it so much, I like in UK now and would love to be back in the States (never been to Denmark, just Italy for a week & I found it a bit depressing & dead).

US has so much to appreciate, can move 3000 miles across it without a passport, more goods & services, many different climates. Food is cheaper in England but most other things cheaper in the States. You're also further away from the Middle East & Russia.

There's a reason so many want to emigrate to there, maybe it'll get fubar in the next four years but if it does the whole rest of the world will also anyway.

If I had the money to travel I'm sure eventually I'd find a better place have not thus far.
 
So, as a Danish citizen I've refrained from posting in this thread so far, even though the topic has dominated in most media outlets here at home these past weeks.

As I see it, Trump has a pattern of making bombastic statements, because that's how he gets things moving in relation to his own business empire - and he just assumes that the same method will work from the WH. I think this will all end with talks via back channels and the Danish Government will strengthen efforts - especially military efforts - that secures Greenland with regards to American interests and perhaps counters Chinese and Russian interests in the region. These efforts and policy changes can take many forms; my Government would be wise to figure out what Trump is really trying to achieve - and meet him somewhere in the middle, defusing the whole thing.

That's my $0.02 anyway.
 
@EvaDK Well, are you ready this? You might be able to wrangle US citizenship out of it if you had a house in Greenland.

I think I'm good where I am, thanks. I hate the cold anyway, so you won't see me in Greenland any time soon.

Also, I've visited it once many years ago ;)
 
I would, I miss it so much, I like in UK now and would love to be back in the States (never been to Denmark, just Italy for a week & I found it a bit depressing & dead).

US has so much to appreciate, can move 3000 miles across it without a passport, more goods & services, many different climates. Food is cheaper in England but most other things cheaper in the States. You're also further away from the Middle East & Russia.

There's a reason so many want to emigrate to there, maybe it'll get fubar in the next four years but if it does the whole rest of the world will also anyway.

If I had the money to travel I'm sure eventually I'd find a better place have not thus far.

Yes, the comment was meant to be provocative, not entirely serious, if you're from there obviously you might want to return, and there are probably far worse places live.

I've seen many people go to work and live in states, apparently it is a great place to be as long you make decent money and are healthy, most return when they approach retirement age though, when a working social security system starts to count for something.

To the point of the thread, the Greenland population is apparently divided on the subject :


“Everything is just getting more and more expensive here. Goods from Denmark are extremely expensive, so of course the USA seems more attractive,” cleaning assistant Karen Kielsen said.

Others saw the debate in light of the island’s independence movement.

Student Imaakka Boassen said, “I don’t completely trust the Danes. Maybe I would have more trust in Trump.”

“There are so many Danes in leading positions in Greenland, but when we live in Greenland, it should be Greenlanders who lead,” he added.

Another resident, Anguteq Larsen, told KNR he would prefer Greenland to be independent, without having to rely on either Denmark or the US.
 
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Yes, the comment was meant to be provocative, not entirely serious, if you're from there obviously you might want to return, and there are probably far worse places live.

I've seen many people go to work and live in states, apparently it is a great place to be as long you make decent money and are healthy, most return when they approach retirement age though, when a working social security system starts to count for something.

To the point of the thread, the Greenland population is apparently divided on the subject :

i think they should start learn how medical healthcare work in US
 
Was sagen Sie?
I'm sure you understand, but for the topic: not necessarily the WW2 German variety, but this idea that other diplomatic players will respect you more if you just owned everything you ever needed by hook or by crook, particularly if it's some place they might have little interest in themselves.
I'm sure one person nodding along with Trump's remarks is sitting in the Kremlin right now...
More than likely these actions will just encourage other powers to do likewise until there's inevitably a conflict between them...

Though I acknowledge there are some rare-earth minerals in Greenland, if the US ever wanted them, they could simply pay Denmark for them and leave the current nation-state structure as it is.
 
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ok firstpost, reminder, dane here.
sigh
To the point of the thread, the Greenland population is apparently divided on the subject :

as far as i understand, the division isn't really actually there. this is qualitative individual interviews on news television trying to present a varied debate for balance, and the pro-trump guy is an infamous kook.

this is a clearer picture. https://www.reuters.com/world/green...mid-trump-bid-take-over-territory-2025-01-08/ not a lot of population stats (i still can't find any), but basically the whole thing can be boiled down to this:

Greenland's Finance Minister Erik Jensen repeated that Greenland is not for sale. "Our wish is to become independent one day. But our ambition is not to go from being governed by one country to another."

for a short summary of anyone curious: most greenlanders want independence (64%-67%). they don't want to be subservient to another colonial empire. they don't want to be a territory, neither of denmark nor the states. a large part temporarily support the current pseudo-self-governing status quo under denmark as a practical compromise because of economic dependency. they also don't really mind the economic options and support and such, they just want self-deliberation. this is the reason they're still a part of the kingdom. most people playing with the idea of a us takeover think they, as colonized natives, will have a better position to better their self-determination under us annexation. and you can all imagine how much internal sympathy that has, noting the us history with its own natives and puerto rico.

i'm free to be corrected as to actual stats, but i'll reiterate that "unsure" under a "yes/no/unsure" option as to a us takeover would have a huge overlap with "i think the usa can better help us not being part of any nation whatsoever at all".

i also support whatever the greenlanders want. if there is wide support for this (and this is unlikely), they deserve to choose their own fate, even if i think becoming a territory of natives under the us has some... precedent, let's say, as to whether it's a good idea. but it's up to them.

i'll remain ominously watching the thread for probably another big post later, idk man. it actually surprises me how off people are about this; who to ask about it, greenland's current degree of & dependency on american military, the zeitgeist of greenlanders, etc

and sidenote,

online, some americans talking about greenland like this has been quite the madness (similarly so is the paternalistic position of some danes); greenland is not a trading card or a mineral lootbox, it's a nation of people with a colonial history. sympathetic jokes about the ridiculousness of the situation are usually fine, and we can talk pragmatics as to whether it's possible through some lens of political 'realism', that is all fine and important. but please remember we're talking about the usa buying out a territory of a native american colonized people, and often discussed as an exchange with a european power.
 
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