Greenland has not hit the radar screen until Trump threatened to sieze the island. #47 is adamant that Norway hand over Greenland, afterall we have a base there. Whoi better protect the 50,000 islanders than the U.S. This is a strategic move by the United States.

The coming sea lanes through the artic linking Russia and China to areas of the globe now reached by the Suez Canal.

The fight over Arctic sea lanes centers on a geopolitical scramble for control over the melting Northern Sea Route as a faster alternative to traditional southern chokepoints like the Suez Canal. Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route have been temporarily ice-free. Within the next decade, the Arctic could experience a complete late-season melt-out – and, with that, a permanent loss of the multiyear ice.”

Shipping companies and supporters of increased traffic in the region cite significant cost savings for ships that have sailed along the NSR and predict a rapid growth of Arctic shipping. Bulk carrier tonnage may increase tenfold, from 2 million tons today to 20 million tons by 2020, and oil and gas volume is predicted to grow along similar lines to 40 million tons per year by the end of the decade.

Political tactics are necessary to overcome these barriers. Proceeding at a snails pace is best served by the ultimate goal of aquiring the much sought after land mass. However, in a land grab by China or Russia, the U.S. must exercise not restraint but power.