Opinion: Look to outer space for Trump's Greenland playbook ambitions amid Russia, China Arctic advances

Last week, President Donald Trump doubled down connected his ambitions to acquisition Greenland contempt the information that the thought was outright rejected by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen successful a caller telephone betwixt the two.

"I deliberation we're going to person it," insisted our bombastic commandant successful main erstwhile speaking with journalists connected Air Force One past week. 

Trump adjacent insinuated successful aboriginal January that helium mightiness beryllium forced to compel Denmark to fto the United States instrumentality possession of the autonomous island.

Last week, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) deployed 2 Air Force F-16s to Greenland from Alaska, "exercising its modular statement with the Kingdom of Denmark to guardant posture NORAD beingness successful the Arctic."

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The Pituffik Space Base motion is showcased astatine the office gathering astatine Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, connected April 6, 2023. Pituffik, antecedently known arsenic Thule Air Base, was renamed connected the aforesaid day. (U.S. Space Force)

Trump’s justification for wanting to marque Greenland portion of America is "the extortion of the escaped world." The United States is "the 1 that tin supply the freedom."

"They [Greenland and Denmark] can't," stressed Trump connected committee the statesmanlike craft past week. 

The rationale for The Donald’s insistence lies successful space. 

Greenland’s strategical value to the United States and Europe lies successful the information that it houses an important U.S. subject base, Pituffik, operated by the Space Force, a full caller subdivision of work Trump established successful 2019. 

With Greenland providing the shortest way betwixt North America and Europe and geographically sitting astatine the apical of the satellite successful the Arctic, the Pituffik Space Base carries retired the captious relation of enabling abstraction superiority, which is the centerpiece of the U.S. war-fighting doctrine. Due to its unsocial geographic presumption connected the satellite map, the basal is simply a captious hub for aboriginal menace detection achieved done rocket informing and abstraction surveillance during peacetime and outer bid and power during some bid and war.

During my work successful the Defense Intelligence Agency, I specialized successful abstraction warfare and participated successful warfare games simulating an equipped struggle successful space. Space already underpins each facet of our mode of warfare arsenic our satellites – 8,530 abstraction birds successful orbit astatine the unclassified level, the astir of immoderate state – alteration communications among the troops, synchronizing operations, rocket warning, navigation, quality collection, targeting of our weapons and precision strikes.

THE HISTORIC IMPORTANCE OF GREENLAND FOR US NATIONAL SECURITY AS DEBATE OVER ISLAND'S FUTURE ROARS ON

Houses are seen connected the coastline successful Nuuk, Greenland. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Space is undoubtedly the adjacent frontier of immoderate aboriginal equipped conflict, and some Russia and China are gearing up for abstraction warfare. Recognizing Greenland and the Arctic’s geostrategic value, America’s apical 2 opponents person conducted associated subject drills successful the Arctic. Russia and China program to disrupt oregon destruct our satellites successful wartime oregon successful the run-up to a struggle successful bid to disable our "kill chain," preventing our weapons from reaching their targets. Both Moscow and Beijing are beefing up their commercialized and subject beingness successful the Arctic. Russia already has much subject bases successful the Arctic than the U.S. and NATO combined. Russia has 57, portion NATO has 32 among Canada, Denmark, Norway and the U.S.

By acquiring Greenland, President Trump apt seeks to found the Monroe Doctrine 2.0, to support U.S. adversaries farther distant from the U.S. sphere of strategical interests and to beef up our abstraction superiority. Denmark is not investing successful Greenland’s security, arsenic admitted by Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen successful aboriginal January. 

Trump apt wants to person autonomy implicit this strategical land truthful helium doesn’t person to beryllium connected Danish authorities for nationalist information decisions successful which abstraction forces and the abstraction basal fig prominently owed to their mission. Much of this ngo is related to U.S. counter-space operations against our adversaries and is highly classified. Fast operational decision-making is captious during wartime, particularly due to the fact that immoderate of our adversaries person preemptive doctrines erstwhile it comes to abstraction warfare. It would springiness U.S. forces the strategical inaugural and summation their quality to deter oregon triumph wars. 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping conscionable successful Beijing connected May 16, 2024. (Mikhail Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

During World War II, aft Germany’s penetration of Denmark successful 1940, the United States secured Greenland nether the Monroe Doctrine by signing a "Defense of Greenland" statement with the Danish ambassador. 

It is hardly astonishing that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t pleased with Trump’s efforts to strong-arm Denmark into letting the U.S. ain Greenland.

"We are watching the alternatively melodramatic improvement of the concern precise closely, but truthful far, convey God, astatine the level of statements," said Putin’s property secretary, Dmitriy Peskov, successful aboriginal January. Peskov declared that the Arctic was successful Russia's "sphere of nationalist and strategical interests, and it is funny successful bid and stableness there."

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President Trump has fantabulous geostrategic and geopolitical instincts, which volition apt person a affirmative interaction connected U.S. subject strategy. Trump is the archetypal president to admit the strategical worth of abstraction arsenic a war-fighting domain and to prioritize America’s superiority successful space. To that end, Trump established the U.S. Space Force successful 2019, 18 years aft Putin established Russia’s. He was mocked for it by Jen Psaki, a erstwhile State Department spokesperson, and galore different erstwhile Obama-era officials.

It is my appraisal arsenic a erstwhile quality serviceman specializing successful abstraction warfare that Trump’s extremity to get Greenland is simply a astute determination from a nationalist information standpoint.

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