“Let’s (Not) Make a Deal: Geopolitics and Greenland”, 2019-08-28 (; backlinks):
…As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere in between these extremes.
Trump’s offer to buy Greenland is not a wild-eyed fluke. Instead, it reflects a steadily increasing American interest in Greenland that is spurred by fear of Chinese and Russian encroachments. At the same time, however, a quest to purchase Greenland is not the optimal way to achieve American security interests, as it is unlikely to succeed, and even if it did, it would be far more expensive than other, more sensible approaches.
Instead, the United States should engage with Denmark and Greenland to find common ground on shared concerns…Instead of offering to buy Greenland, the United States should pursue an engagement strategy that combines targeted concessions with clever diplomacy to get the Danes and Greenlanders to cooperate. Luckily, if approached correctly, both nations are very interested in supporting US security interests, as they are broadly shared—especially in Copenhagen. The key will be to see this not as a zero-sum game, but as a win-win-win situation.