Will Greenland Become the 51st State?

The annexation of Hawaii has proven to be a wise decision by the United States, which stationed the Pacific Fleet there, serving as a buffer zone between Asia and continental USA. In fact, if the Pacific Fleet were stationed in San Diego instead than Pearl Harbor, in 1941 Japan would have attacked California, and the U.S. would have suffered a higher number of civilian casualties.

With the acquisition of Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867, the U.S. established a strategic presence on the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Strait.

This month, President Trump declared that he is studying the acquisition of Greenland from Denmark.

Greenland is a self-governing province of Denmark, a member of NATO. The island enjoys a strategic position at the center of the Arctic Circle, and it is rich in unexploited natural resources, such as oil, gas, and uranium. The United States already established a military presence in Greenland, the Thule Air Base, which is the U.S.'s northernmost military base.

By annexing the world’s largest island as the 51^st state, the United States would expand its territory by 836,330 square miles, reaching 4.63 million square miles, thus becoming the world second largest country, ahead of Canada and behind Russia. It would also expand its exclusive economic zone, where coastal states can exploit mineral resources, up to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline of Greenland.

But the greatest benefit would be the establishment of a permanent U.S. military presence at the crossroads of the Arctic Circle, a location of primary geostrategic importance, with the ability to deploy a missile defense system on the Arctic island, which would serve as a buffer zone between Russia and the United States.

For Greenland’s Inuit population, which is slightly above 56,000, it would not matter much whether they are a Danish territory or an American territory, but rather their level of independence from both Denmark and the United States.

The Trump Administration should unveil a package of economic benefits and freedoms for the Greenlandic population. Its inhabitants should acquire U.S. citizenship, and they should be able to enjoy free trade with the rest of the United States, becoming eligible to receive minimum wage and social security benefits, as well as adopting the U.S. dollar as their currency. Because the USA is a member of NATO, Greenland would also keep its NATO membership.

However, it is unlikely that Greenland would become a U.S. state in the short-term; in fact, by acquiring statehood, its 56,000 residents would be entitled to elect 2 seats in the U.S. Senate, wielding a disproportionate political weight in U.S. elections.

The best solution would be the purchase of Greenland from Denmark with the status of U.S. territory, with a high degree of administrative independence, like the U.S. Virgin Islands, but with common defense and free trade with the United States.

The acquisition of Greenland would be a major success for the Trump Administration from a historical perspective.

Francesco Stipo is the President of the Houston Energy Club, a member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C., a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, and recently joined the Bretton Woods Committee. Born in Italy in 1973, Dr. Stipo is a naturalized United States citizen. He holds a Ph.D. in International Law and a Master Degree in Comparative Law from the University of Miami. To read more of his reports, Click Here Now.