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Until this week, like most Americans, I viewed Greenland as a picturesque but mostly uninhabited land mass where polar bears frolicked and our Air Force controlled a strategically valuable base.
This Air Force base once went by the name of "Thule" but had recently been renamed Pituffik Space Base.
Receiving a news update in my email recently, I was surprised to discover many things that I did not know about Greenland's current political situation.
Here is that news update:Denmark Boosts Greenland’s Military Defense Capacity After Trump’s Remarks
By Tom Ozimek December 24, 2024
European news
"The government of Denmark, which controls key aspects of the autonomous territory of Greenland, has announced a major boost to the Arctic island’s defense spending, just hours after President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase Greenland, citing security imperatives.
"Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Dec. 24 that the defense package would amount to at least $1.5 billion, while calling the timing of the spending boost “ironic” in light of Trump’s recent remarks."
SNIP
"Greenland, which runs its own domestic matters but whose foreign affairs including defense are controlled by Denmark, is strategically important to the United States. The former Danish colony is strategically located about halfway along the shortest route from Europe and Russia to North America. It’s home to a large U.S. space facility and its proximity to the Arctic means that it plays a pivotal role in monitoring and managing Arctic security. The Arctic also serves as the shortest route for intercontinental ballistic missiles traveling between the United States and Russia, elevating Greenland’s importance as a strategic security outpost in the current period of heightened rivalry between global great powers."
Full article is at link above.
Here is a website page that offers up quite a lot of insight into Greenland's historical involvement with Denmark:
SNIP
"Despite Greenland's inhospitable climate, the island has a rich history as the first point of transatlantic contact between the Old and New Worlds that has brought together Inuit and Scandinavian influences since Viking times. It is a history that continues to be written today as the island marches towards nationhood and independence as it attempts to negotiate its identity and role in an increasingly globalized world."
SNIP
"Before jumping into the history of Greenland's ownership, it is important to clear up misconceptions about its status. Greenland is a self-governing territory, not a colony of Denmark, and according to NPR, Denmark does not own it. This land has its own prime minister, parliament, and governing institutions. However, it frequently appears on maps as "part" of Denmark."
My comment: So then I must reconsider my thoughts on Greenland. The place, with its major ties to Denmark, is similar in its political status to Puerto Rico, which is also self-governing despite being a constituent of the United States. (Of course, the climate in Greenland couldn't be more different than that of Puerto Rico.)
In any event, as I'm thinking the matter over, it seems Trump is not behaving very diplomatically by his acting and speaking as though Greenland is a rough-hewn land of ice of no importance to any other nation and not having its own government.
The following photo is an image of our air base there in Greenland, courtesy of Alamy:
So what do we know about Pituffik Space Base?
From the website of https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/Pituffik-SB-Greenland/
Although most Americans know very little, we can easily become educated on the following: "Pituffik Space Base (pronounced bee-doo-FEEK), formerly known as Thule Air Base (pronounced too-lee), is located in Greenland—a country within the Kingdom of Denmark and inhabited by approximately 56,000 people. Greenland covers nearly 840,000 square miles; more than 80 percent is covered either by the ice cap or smaller glaciers. Pituffik SB is locked in by ice nine months out of the year, but the airfield is open and operated year-round.
"Pituffik SB, the DoD's northernmost installation, is operated by the 821st Space Base Group and part of Space Base Delta 1. Pituffik SB exists today due to agreements between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark, specifically addressing mutual defense. Strategically, Pituffik SB’s “Top of the World” vantage point enables Space Superiority. Pituffik SB supports Missile Warning, Missile Defense and Space Surveillance missions from the solid-state phased-array radar operated by the 12th Space Warning Squadron (12 SWS) and Satellite Command and Control through the Pituffik Tracking Station operated by the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, Detachment 1 (Det-1)."
Full article is at link above.
With this space base offering us a needed route for the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles, I hope Trump checks in with Danish leaders before making any more rash proposals. Although our government views Scandinavian nations as being friendly to our interests, Russia sees them the same way.
So Denmark/Greenland is in the situation of an attractive lady who has two suitors rather than only one. I've been told by some of the fairest maidens who were BFFs in my distant past that often they chose the suitor who went all out on their behalf rather than the brash suitor who acted as though it was his way or the highway.
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Discussion (69)
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I hope he hasn't been partaking of too much holiday sauce to help him come up with these things.
President Jefferson once had mistaken ideas on how eager other lands would be to become part of the United States. Of course, this was after he had served two terms as President and his successor would have to deal with the consequences of his big mouth:
Vladimir Putin made a similar mistake in February 2022 when he thought the people of Ukraine would be glad to fall into his hands.
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I can pronounce Thule. That other thing? Just reverse a couple of vowels, and it's all a poor, ugly guy is gettin' in life.
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Trump does not drink. It's all natural testosterone.
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I guarantee the spacers stationed there pronounce it differently when the officers are not around.
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I thought we maintained a base in Greenland solely to transfer personnel who offended their superiors. Is that a real thing?
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