Greenland is a massive island of 836,000 square miles. Erik Thorvaldsson, aka Erik the Red, spent three years exploring it following his exile from Iceland in 982. When he returned, he told people stories of his exploration and of the place he called “Greenland.” He deliberately gave it the attractive name so as to lure settlers. His marketing proved successful, and he returned with enough people to establish two colonies on the southwest coast.
Recently, President Trump discussed purchasing Greenland as a possible strategic bulwark against China. His overtures were quickly rebuffed, but it’s not the first time the United States has sought to buy the island. During the Truman administration in 1946, Greenland was an attractive piece in the Cold War game of chess.
Pentagon and intelligence strategists saw it as a place from which to keep tabs on the Soviet Union. It would allow monitoring of Atlantic-bound Russian ships and would provide early warnings of any missile launches. State Department official John Hickerson said in a memo to the planning and strategy committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that Greenland was “indispensable to the safety of the United States.”
Secretary of State James Byrnes made the offer to visiting Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen in New York on Dec. 14, 1946. The proposal was $100 million in gold for an outright sale. Rasmussen said he’d consider it, but whether he rejected it or let the matter quietly drop without responding isn’t clear. Either way, the deal didn’t get done.
Despite this, however, and because of the NATO alliance, Washington did get the chance to place a military presence on Greenland, rather than a refuelling station, which had been the original plan. The U.S. established Thule Air Force Base where it remains 66 years later.
Trump’s clumsy purchase offer perhaps makes a sale soon unlikely. But how about a long lease, and the right of first refusal if the Danes change their minds?
