Should We Buy Greenland?

Discussion in 'Politics & Government' started by Joe Riley, Aug 21, 2019.

  1. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    In 1946, Harry Truman offered 100 million dollars to buy the Island of Greenland.

     
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  2. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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  3. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    images - 2019-08-21T164855.207.jpeg

    I don't really know anything about Greenland other than people saying Trump wanted to buy it. Not sure if that information was accurate or not. Iceland is cool though.
     
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  4. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    I think we should make the Danes an offer they can't refuse. It would be to the benefit of the Greenlanders and us.
     
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  5. Rosie Sinclair

    Rosie Sinclair Very Well-Known Member
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    I thought it was all a joke. Surely no-one actually owns a country?
     
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  6. Lulu Moppet

    Lulu Moppet Veteran Member
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    It isn't a joke and it is indicative that even Trump understands climate change. The rich resources long buried under ice are now becoming available for the taking. Although an autonomous nation, Greenland is actually owned by Denmark and is in it's constitution.
    "Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous Danish dependent territory with limited self-government and its own parliament. Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland's budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing."
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18249474
     
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  7. Lulu Moppet

    Lulu Moppet Veteran Member
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    You have a good sense of humor, so I'm hoping you are joking. What offer can be made to Denmark that they couldn't refuse? Why do you suppose the people of Greenland would agree with you?
     
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  8. Rosie Sinclair

    Rosie Sinclair Very Well-Known Member
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    Thank you for that. I'm hoping that once the ice has melted sufficiently, archaeologists will be allowed to excavate. Hopefully we'll learn more about earth's history.
     
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  9. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    Well the US purchased Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million. and then there's the Louisiana Purchase from France, for 15 Million. The President does not want to buy it personally. Like Truman, Trumps sees it for it's use in military air bases and early warning advantages.
     
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  10. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    I don't think it would ever be a big vacation retreat, but I can see the military and scientific value (as per @Rosie Sinclair). It may also have natural resources we are unaware of. I'm not sure if Trump was planning it for the USA though. I thought it was more of a personal purchase, but again, all I know is what I've read online, and most of that is misinformation crap. :D
     
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  11. Peter Renfro

    Peter Renfro Veteran Member
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    I could see it being to our advantage,but what are the Greenlanders going to gain? The US is quite niggardly to its possessions and territories.
     
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  12. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    Why the US would want to buy Greenland and why the Greenlanders would benefit:

    The first reason to take note of is the rich mineral deposits in the country. It isn’t known exactly how much there is, but the country has plenty of natural resources that would benefit any buyer that could get their hands on them.
    The second reason that President Donald Trump could be eyeing the country has to do with its strategic advantage as a military installation. The US already has bases in the country for this reason and owning it would only be a better benefit.
    The final reason is how Greenland is positioned in the world. The development of Atlantic trade routes continues on and it is causing an increase in shipping speeds. Control of this is something that China has already considered and it would be a benefit for America.


    Greenland has been susceptible to Chinese wooing. Prime Minister Kim Kielsen led a delegation to Beijing in October 2017 to explore ways to deepen ties. Chinese firms are interested in expansion of three of Greenland’s airports, including runway lengthening and infrastructure development essential for fledgling tourism. Chinese firms also have invested in Greenland’s mineral sector which has become more accessible thanks to climate change. Greenland has issued more than fifty permits for exploration, many of them to Chinese firms. Rare earth elements, uranium, and zinc are under development at Kvanefjeld by an Australian-Chinese partnership. An Australian firm planning to mine zinc just signed an MOU with a Chinese firm, and a Hong Kong–based company holds rights to a potential iron mine. China is also constructing a scientific research base and satellite station. This heavy courtship from China threatens to swamp Greenland’s tentative steps into the global marketplace.


    Greenland is well aware that it needs foreign investment, and is in no position to be choosy. Greenland sees tourism as a path toward independence, and it views its neighbor Iceland with admiring eyes. Also a former Danish colony, Iceland carved a fertile niche market for tourism. As one of the countries hardest hit by the 2009 global financial crisis, it reinvented itself as an unspoiled tourism destination, growing the sector from 600,000 visitors in 2000 to 1.8 million by 2016, with all the attendant problems large numbers of tourists bring to a tiny country of only 335,000 people. Problems, Greenland says, it would love to have. And China would love to help. Economic investment in the Arctic is fully in line with its first Arctic Policy paper released in January, and its determination to exercise power as a “near-Arctic state” is fully in evidence in its economic diplomacy in Greenland.

    If China gets control of Greenland, they surely won't allow the US to keep it's military bases.

    Would the Greenlanders not fare better as a protectorate of the US than as a subject of China?


     
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  13. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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  14. Lulu Moppet

    Lulu Moppet Veteran Member
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    Like I said before, Shirl Girl, there is nothing simple about you. That said, your argument may be good for us but really doesn't take into account the native population of Greenland. Denmark is doing just fine, and short of starting a war over it, they have no intention of bowing to Trump's will. Your China worries seem unnecessary. Kind of like that old troublesome Domino Theory. IMO.

    To me, this attempt is a disguised acceptance of climate change and greed. Finally, Greenland is worth something without all that bothersome ice.
     
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  15. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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