On March 28, U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited the Pituffik Space Base, a U.S. military base in Greenland, with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
Their trip to the Arctic follows President Donald Trump's declaration that the United States should acquire Greenland. The island is in a strategic position at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and North America.
It's a self-governing territory of Denmark.
The island’s geopolitical relevance is disproportionate respect to the global role of Denmark, a country with just five million inhabitants.
In case a great power, like Russia, decides to invade Greenland, there's not much that Denmark could do to protect it.
On the contrary, the United States, which is the only global superpower, would certainly be able to defend Greenland from hostile countries.
Vice President Vance was correct in saying that Denmark has not done a good job at keeping Greenland safe.
In fact, Denmark previously lost control of Greenland in the past.
In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Denmark, forcing the United States to occupy Greenland to prevent it from falling under Hitler’s control.
Following the end of World War II, the United States returned the island to Denmark.
That was, and still is, a mistake.
The United States should have claimed Greenland as compensation for freeing Denmark from the Nazi occupation. Later, in 1946, the United States asked Denmark to cede the island, but Denmark rejected the offer.
Since the end of World War II, the main military base on the island has been American, not Danish. Denmark failed to exploit the island abundant resources, such as oil, natural gas, uranium, rare earth minerals and water.
These resources remain largely unexploited.
Since Greenland became a territory of Denmark with the Treaty of Kiel of 1814, the Danish government has been more interested in keeping the island under its control rather than being concerned about the security and economic prosperity of its population.
In 2023, Denmark has been accused of running a secret contraceptive program to prevent population growth in Greenland.
An investigation on the so-called Spiral Case was started to find out whether between 1967 and 1975 the Danish government used a network of doctors to insert intrauterine devices in fertile Greenlandic girls to prevent them from becoming pregnant.
If these accusations are confirmed, they would be another good reason for Greenland to cut its ties with Denmark.
President Trump's quest to gain control of Greenland is more than legitimate and is in the best interests of the island’s inhabitants.
Francesco Stipo is an author and expert in international affairs. He is president of the Houston Energy Club, a member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. In 2014, he was invited to join the Bretton Woods Committee. Born in Italy in 1973, Dr. Stipo is a United States citizen. He holds a Ph.D. in International Law, and a Master Degree in Comparative Law from the University of Miami. Read More of Francisco Stipo's Reports — Here.