Greenland's
leader
(
Mute
B.
Egede
)signaled
on
Friday
he
is
prepared
to
enter
negotiations
with
Donald
Trump
about
the
Arctic
territory's
future
after
the
president-elect
repeatedly
suggested
he
would
like
the
U.S.
to
acquire
Greenland.
Prof.
Clifford
Thies
reports:
BREAKING:
Majority
of
Greenlanders
support
joining
the
U.S.
Why
should
this
be
a
surprise?
We
love
the
Danes
and
what
they
have
done
to
transition
from
a
land
of
Vikings
into
a
civilized
people.
And,
we're
o.k.
with
the
Faroe
Islands
being
part
of
Denmark
(and
Spitsbergen
being
part
of
Norway).
But,
we
worry
about
Greenland.
How
realistic
is
it
for
Denmark
to
own
and
be
responsible
for
Greenland?
The
truth
is,
we,
the
U.S.,
seized
the
island
during
WWII,
to
prevent
it
from
falling
into
the
hands
of
Nazi
Germany.
Denmark
was
overrun
by
Germany
in
six
hours.The
Danish
government
didn't
even
have
enough
time
to
declare
war,
no
less
offer
any
meaningful
resistance
to
the
invading
German
army.
After
WWII,
and
Denmark
becoming
part
of
the
NATO
alliance,
"Denmark's"
defense
of
Greenland
mainly
became
the
responsibility
of
the
U.S.
During
WWII,
we
established
military
bases
on
the
island.
We
had
a
total
of
17
military
installations.
These
included
anti-submarine
and
air
defense
units.
The
plucky
Danes
had
a
dog-sled
patrol.
Following
the
war,
we
reconfigured
our
forces
on
the
island
to
the
defense
of
the
North
Atlantic
region.
Most
significantly,
this
included
a
major
air
force
base
at
Thule.
The
Danes
have
"turned
the
defense
of
the
island's
waters"
to
the
local
population.
In
fact,
the
coast
guard-type
ships
and
their
crews
of
this
defense
continue
to
be
supplied
by
Denmark.
Denmark's
naval
participation
in
the
defense
of
the
North
Atlantic
region
comes
from
its
small
navy
which
includes
three
frigates.
These
ships
are
pretty
capable
as
part
of
the
combined
NATO
fleet.
image.png
Danish
military
forces
have
met
their
NATO
obligations.
During
the
war
in
Afghanistan,
Danish
ground
forces
fought
alongside
our
forces
and
British
forces
on
the
frontline,
and
acquitted
themselves
well.
Denmark
suffered
50
KIA
in
Afghanistan,
as
compared
to
16
during
the
WWII
invasion
of
Denmark
by
Germany
(or,
17
if
you
count
the
one
Dane
who
was
killed
fighting
the
Germans
in
Greenland,
as
part
of
the
dog-sled
patrol).
While
civilized,
the
Viking
spirit
lives
on
among
the
Danes.
The
question
isn't
Denmark's
willingness
to
participate
in
the
mutual
defense
of
the
North
Atlantic
region,
but
its
capability
of
defending
Greenland.
Accordingly,
Donald
Trump
has
broached
the
topic
of
transferring
the
big
island
to
the
U.S.
"Patriot
Polling
surveyed
416
people
residing
across
the
Danish
territory
of
Greenland
on
their
support
for
joining
the
United
States.
After
being
elected
President
of
the
United
States
in
November,
Donald
Trump
has
proposed
the
United
States
acquiring
Greenland
from
Denmark.
Trump
previously
floated
the
idea
in
2019,
during
his
first
term.
Our
survey
finds
that
a
substantial
majority
of
Greenlandic
residents
support
joining
the
United
States.
During
the
time
that
this
poll
was
conducted,
Donald
Trump
Jr.
made
a
visit
to
Greenland."
