Greenland and US Imperialist Extortion
by Gary Porter
Greenland’s Inuit history began with waves of migration from North America, featuring early cultures like the Saqqaq (c. 2500 BCE) and Dorset, culminating in the arrival of the ancestral Thule people around 1000 CE, the direct ancestors of today’s Greenlandic Inuit (Kalaallit). They mastered marine hunting and established traditions that continue despite Norse settlement and centuries of Danish colonization, focusing on deep connection to the Arctic environment for survival. Temporary Norse settlements led by Eric the Red arrived in in 982 CE, but faded away around 1500 CE. Greenland has a population of 57,000 in the southwest glacier free area. Of these 50,000 are Indigenous Inuit.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous colony of the Kingdom of Denmark, transitioning towards independence. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, a moderate conservative, is Greenland’s Prime Minister in the 31-seat parliament. Greenlanders share the full range of Scandinavian social benefits, almost all of which they would lose as a colony of the US. Ask Puerto Ricans. Almost no one in Greenland wants to be taken over by the American hegemon.
But Trump has never asked them, and cares only marginally what they think. The US is really offering Denmark a take it or leave it purchase price, or lose Greenland by force of US arms. Why, apart from imperialist ego, does Trump want Greenland?
Greenland’s proven natural resources are significant, but their exploitation is challenging due to a combination of geography, climate, economics, and political will. Greenland has significant rare earth elements.
The Kvanefjeld (or Kuannersuit) project near Narsaq in southern Greenland hosts one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of rare earth elements (essential for magnets in wind turbines, EVs, and electronics and more important for Trump, weapons systems) and also contains significant uranium and zinc.
Greenland has Ruby and Pink Sapphires mines.
The Mandalay Resources’ mine near Qaqortoq has been a consistent producer of high-quality ilmenite, a key mineral for titanium pigment.
Several promising gold deposits have been identified.
The Isua project (though currently on hold) is a major iron ore deposit. The earlier Grønnedal mine produced cryolite, critical for aluminum processing.
Greenland’s offshore basins could contain over 17 billion barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Fisheries are the cornerstone of the current economy: This is Greenland’s only fully and sustainably exploited resource, accounting for about 90% of exports.
Greenland’s abundant glacial melt and rainfall create significant hydropower potential. Several hydroelectric plants are already operating, primarily supplying electricity to aluminum smelters (like the one in Nuuk) and towns. This is a critical resource for enabling future mineral projects that require large amounts of clean energy. Finally, Greenland’s ice cap is the world’s second-largest freshwater reservoir. There have been conceptual proposals for exporting icebergs or bulk water, but this remains logistically and economically unproven at a commercial scale.
In common with other indigenous led societies, there is a strong domestic and international focus on protecting the fragile Arctic environment. The fishing industry, a vital employer, is wary of pollution from mining. The population is divided on large-scale mining, especially involving radioactive elements (like uranium at Kvanefjeld).
The Self-Rule government’s core objective is full independence from Denmark. This requires developing a revenue base beyond the current annual block grant from Denmark, creating a powerful incentive for resource development, but also a need to balance it with social and environmental values.
From the perspective of President Donald Trump (and aligning with broader U.S. strategic interests that he has emphasized), Greenland’s strategic position at the eastern edge of the Arctic Ocean, combined with Alaska’s position at the western end, could give the US behemoth a choke hold on the Arctic for both military and commercial use.
Russia has been aggressively modernizing its Arctic military bases, deploying new radar systems, anti-aircraft missiles, and reopening Soviet-era airfields. Greenland, located between North America and Europe in the North Atlantic, is a critical geographic buffer and forward operating location for U.S. and NATO forces to monitor and counter Russian activities in the Arctic.
Trump’s administration is intensely focused on countering China’s global expansion. China has declared itself a “near-Arctic state” and has sought scientific and economic footholds in Greenland (investing in mining, infrastructure, and research). Controlling Greenland would prevent China from gaining a strategic foothold in the Arctic, close to North America.
The U.S. already has Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base) in northwest Greenland, one of the northernmost U.S. military installations. It is crucial for its advanced radar systems which are part of the U.S. Space Force’s global network for detecting ballistic missile launches. It tracks satellites and space debris and it projects power. It provides a staging ground for Arctic operations. For Trump, securing permanent, unchallenged control over such assets is a top national security priority.
With China dominating the global rare earths supply chain, controlling Greenland’s resources would be a major strategic and economic coup for the U.S., ensuring supply chain security for critical technology.
Melting Ice = New Highways: Climate change is opening up Arctic shipping routes like the Northwest Passage. These routes could dramatically shorten travel time between Asia, Europe, and North America, challenging traditional chokepoints like the Suez and Panama Canals. Controlling Greenland would give the U.S. dominant influence over the entrance to these routes and the surrounding seas.
Of course Denmark, including Greenland, is a member of NATO. This US dominated alliance founded in 1949 as an anti soviet alliance during the cold war serves as an imperialist cat’s paw today against Russia, West Asia and North African countries today. Attacking Greenland is attacking a NATO country. Article 5 of of the NATO treaty requires the remaining 22 members of NATO to defend Greenland against US aggression. The Europeans could not sustain such a military operation and continue to demand US support for their belligerent stand against Russia in Ukraine. So what would happen to NATO? Can it survive a predatory attack by the US against another member? Trump always portrays himself and the US as being a victim and being ripped off. He speculated at the recent World Economic Forum that NATO would not react to save the USA. He is an ignorant man. The only time in its 77 year history that the Article 5 “All for one” clause has been invoked, was in the wake of the Trade Centre attack on September 2, 2001, for the US.
Workers and socialists have no interest in NATO’s preservation. Neither do Russia or China. It is an aggressive imperialist alliance. But Trump, to satisfy his bloated ego might destroy NATO to build his American empire. At Davos he said he would not use military means, but he is a liar.
Where should socialists stand on this developing imperialist struggle to control Greenland?
We must begin with unwavering support for the self determination of oppressed nations. We stand with the self determination of Greenlander Inuit people including the right to control the Island of Greenland and all its resources.
We must also strongly oppose the extension of US hegemonic control of the Arctic passage between Alaska and Greenland. No more navigation chokepoints such as the Suez and Panama Canals and the Malacca Strait, dominated by the US Navy. Any move by the US military against Greenland must be opposed in the streets.