America doesn't need to own Greenland — there's a better, more peaceful way

At the World Economic Forum successful Davos, President Trump backed disconnected his menace to usage the subject to summation power of Greenland. He said that helium doesn’t request to usage subject unit and aboriginal announced that the U.S. had reached statement connected the "framework of a aboriginal deal" with NATO. Denmark, Greenland, and our European allies person rejected immoderate effort by the U.S. to get the island.

Contrary to President Donald Trump’s views, the U.S. does not request to ain Greenland to support it. For decades our nationalist information has been strengthened by cooperative agreements with Greenland, Denmark, and different NATO nations extending backmost to the Second World War.

During World War II, the Nazis occupied Denmark and had a subject outpost successful Greenland. The U.S. ousted the Nazis from Greenland and established subject bases connected the island. In 1951, the U.S. entered into an statement with the Danish authorities providing for associated defense, and passim the Cold War the U.S. maintained subject facilities connected the island. In 2004, the statement was updated to springiness Greenland’s authorities a greater accidental successful however U.S. subject operations impacted its citizens.

TOP NATO OFFICIAL REVEALS DETAILS OF STUNNING MEETING WITH TRUMP THAT PRODUCED GREENLAND DEAL ‘FRAMEWORK’

In caller decades, the U.S., successful practice with the Danish and Greenland governments, has maintained a constricted subject beingness connected the island. Under these agreements, the U.S. has had wide discretion successful moving subject operations successful Greenland for nationalist defense. Danish and Greenland citizens present inquire the evident question: If President Trump wants to beef up the U.S. subject beingness successful Greenland, wherefore doesn’t helium bash it wrong the model of existing agreements?

One statement utilized by President Trump is that the U.S. needs to ain Greenland to unafraid uncommon world mineral deposits connected the island. The pretext for this assertion is the determination by China to enforce export controls connected their uncommon world mineral producers. The information is that successful caller years the U.S. has importantly reduced its dependence connected Chinese uncommon world minerals. Greenland has important reserves of uncommon world minerals. However, entree to these uncommon world minerals is constrained by some exertion and constricted downstream facilities required to bring uncommon world minerals to market. It volition instrumentality galore years to research and make Greenland’s uncommon world minerals and bring them to market.

Greenland should clasp power implicit its uncommon world minerals and make these resources to payment its people. The proven mode to bash this is to trust connected markets, not politics. Greenland should assistance leases to multinational corporations successful a competitory market. These lease agreements could make royalties and gross for Greenland based connected marketplace conditions. Greenland should spot this royalty gross successful a sovereign wealthiness money for the payment of its citizens. The precedent for specified a sovereign wealthiness money is that created successful Norway, the Government Pension Fund of Norway. The instauration of a sovereign wealthiness money could warrant that these revenues are utilized to payment Greenland’s radical alternatively than elites, peculiar interests, oregon overseas interests.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The U.S. should enactment this attack to the exploration and improvement of uncommon world resources successful Greenland due to the fact that it is successful our nationalist interests. In the agelong run, Greenland could look arsenic a large spouse successful NATO, overmuch similar Norway. President Trump should prosecute policies to fortify NATO, not undermine it. Greenland and Denmark stay committed to this cooperative approach.

William Owens is simply a erstwhile vice president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is connected the Board of the Prosperity for US Foundation