Donroe Doctrine at the Top of the World

I jumped the gun a year ago, but business is picking up on Greenland. Here is how we get what we want.

In my “Ten Bold Predictions for 2025” article released on New Year’s Day last year, I made the following prediction:

VI. The United States Will Agree to Terms to Acquire New Arctic Interests

I hope all talk of Canadian statehood ends at trolling, because such a thing would cripple all hope of any sort of America First future for our country. It is also right out of The Art of the Deal to ask for a mile while knowing you only want 100 yards, which makes the other side of the negotiation happy to give away.

I don’t think President Trump has any real interest in what Canadian statehood would add to the current United States, or our economic aspirations. I believe all talk about Canada and Greenland is aimed at giving the United States leverage in the race for Arctic dominance. I will likely write an article soon about my experience serving under the U.S. Army Alaska Command in 2012-13, when this subject was beginning to boil over into national debate of great strategic importance.

The Arctic, which Andrew Jackson also had interest in, serves as a strategic logistical and deterrence point atop the world. Neocons would seek to use such a point for their own purposes related to interventionism, but if used properly, it would be a pivotal military position. I would not expect anything as major as the entire Canadian nation achieving statehood, or the annexation of all of Greenland, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the incoming administration strikes a deal to take control of the Yukon and/or Northwest Territories, or a portion of northern Greenland, with all parties involved in the transaction assured of mutual economic and military benefits.

It turns out that prediction was one of just two I missed outright. You can review those here:

But I didn’t miss it in the spirit of the prediction - I simply miscalculated the timeline upon which it was most likely to go down. After Trump’s seizure of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro last weekend, which seems like 2 years ago in MAGA years, the world and every strategic American interest is on notice.

That includes Greenland. Forget what we have to say; check out what Greenland’s own government has to say about its strategic importance:

• Largest island in the world

• Resources continuously discovered with melting ice

• Gold, oil, natural gas, zinc, graphite, copper, nickel, rare earth elements

• “Strategic advantage” - which I will get to

20% of bettors on Polymarket believe the U.S. will acquire at least a portion of Greenland in 2026:

As a lifelong enthusiast of the board game Risk, I’ve had a good laugh at the posts highlighting Trump’s real life plays and assessments that the world had better look out once the U.S. takes Kamchatka:

That is why the best humor is based in reality. When Greenland’s own government references its “strategic advantage,” they are pointing out what all rising (and existing) powers know, which I pointed out in last year’s article, “American Greenland May Be Much Closer Than You Think”:

Putting on my military intelligence hat, which comes out from time to time, it is clear America and the people of Greenland (not necessarily the government) have mutually aligned interests. Greenland as an American possession would give us critical access to the Arctic, and further to the north than we can access through Alaska and would require the United States Navy to perform the important task of overseeing critical shipping channels through the Arctic region. We are falling behind China and Russia for Arctic dominance, and most key players in the foreign policy world not busy inflaming tensions worldwide realize this is a key to success in the 21^st century and beyond, much like stakes in the New World were critical for European nations in the 16^th century.

Now that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is discussing bypassing Denmark to talk about straight-up purchasing Greenland from the Greenlanders, making it a United States territory, the Danes are scrambling to get a meeting with Rubio to put the issue to bed once again. Trump has been doing his part in the urgency department, pointing out how there are Chinese and Russian ships in the Arctic as far as the eye can see.

I don’t believe Trump would use the military to take over Greenland, but if he really wanted to, there isn’t a soul to stop us, NATO pacts be damned. Here is how I think the play to acquire Greenland (or a significant American stake in Greenland) is going to go down: