US Considers Buying Greenland, Again. Because Colonies Are Always a Good Idea.
Al Jazeera's 'Inside Story' asks if the US 'really could take over Greenland' in the wake of Donald Trump's 2019 musings. While the segment rightly highlights the unease this caused for islanders and Denmark, it glosses over the fact that the US 'acquiring' territories isn't exactly new. This isn't just about a former president's real estate fantasies, but a recurring pattern of resource
acquisition under the guise of strategic interest, a playbook refined over centuries from Native American lands to Hawaii to Alaska (which, for the record, was indeed a purchase). The US has maintained a military presence in Greenland since WWII, notably Thule Air Base, a strategic outpost even without outright 'ownership.' The narrative presented by mainstream media tends to isolate these
proposals as singular eccentricities, rather than recognizing them as continuations of a long-standing imperialist foreign policy framework. One might wonder if the US would be so 'unsettled' if another powerful nation suggested purchasing 'strategic' uninhabited territories adjacent to its own borders. Or if perhaps the 'international rules-based order' applies selectively.