Noble intent, horrible packaging
Background
Greenland is a sovereign, autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark. Under the auspices of NATO membership, The US is free to build military bases on Greenland. It has made offers to buy the island from Denmark, all of them have been rebuffed with "Greenland is not for sale."
The Arctic Ocean is dominated by Russia and exploited by China for shorter delivery routes between Asia and Europe. Therefore, it is of strategic importance for the US to have defensive installations around Greenland, especially along its northern coastline. The US calls it the "Iron Dome".
Messaging
The strategic intent is clear. The messaging was horrible and inexcusable. One does not threaten one's allies with military force and punitive tariffs, TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) or not.
Had Mr. Trump described his vision for Greenland more accurately, detailing the changes that he envisioned, perhaps the resistance from Europe would have been less. Greenland, just like Puerto Rico, is an autonomous territory with local government, flag and legislature. I doubt that this would change under US ownership. Perhaps the money would become the US dollar instead of the Danish krone. There would be an influx of investment in the form of academic research institutions, education and healthcare organizations and various commercial enterprises creating many jobs. Maybe the US would even pay big money to Greenlanders for their vote to join the US and similarly compensate Denmark for their territory. Maybe the US would build up the infrastructure of Greenland — roads, bridges, airports, ports and alike.
Would this be so bad for Greenland, Europe, US, NATO, and the world?
