Why has Denmark declared that the United States is a threat to Danish national security?
This tiny kingdom of approximately 6 million people has been an ally of the United States since the end of German occupation in 1945. Their small defense force is closer in size to Alabama’s National Guard and reserve forces than to the American military. Similarly, Denmark enjoys a sizeable trade surplus with the United States, which serves as the kingdom’s largest trading partner outside Europe.
So why is the Danish social Democrat prime minister pressuring Europe to confront the United States over our interest in Greenland? In case you missed it, the Danish prime minister said that an American takeover of Greenland would mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. Subsequently, other European leaders have voiced support for Denmark. Some, such as the Spanish Foreign Minister, who is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, have even called for a European Union Army to reduce Europe’s dependence on the United States. There’s been a lot of tough talk and vilification of President Trump and the United States over Greenland, but is all this negative dialogue really warranted between so-called allies?
If you look at the history of Greenland, you’ll find that Denmark claimed all rights to the former Norwegian islands of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands after their loss during the Napoleonic Wars. Specifically, in the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, Denmark sliced off the Norwegian islands and traded mainland Norway to Sweden in exchange for Swedish Pomerania. In the mid-19th Century, the United States discussed buying Greenland and Iceland following the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Again, after World War II — remember, Denmark was occupied by Germany in World War II, and the National Socialist Workers’ Party of Denmark sent approximately 6,000 Danes to fight for the Waffen-SS — the United States offered $100 million in gold for Greenland. Yes, even though America had already built significant military infrastructure and secured the island throughout the war, we still offered to buy it, not take it.
For foreign leaders to suggest that national borders remain static is absurd. When you watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the events that take place in Cortina d’Ampezzo are actually taking place in historic Austria. That’s because Cortina d’Ampezzo was taken from Austria after their loss in World War I and awarded to Italy. Or more recently, if you look at a pre-1989 atlas, like the one my in-laws have on their bookshelf, you’ll see a divided Germany and united Czechoslovakia, but you won’t see the 15 post-Soviet states. No, Ukraine is just lumped in as a republic of the Soviet Union. This quick geography snapshot simply demonstrates that national borders are constantly in flux.
Historically, Denmark has had a difficult time maintaining control of their former Norwegian possessions. In 1944, Iceland voted to leave Denmark and successfully formed the Republic of Iceland. Two years later, the Faroe Islands voted to leave Denmark, and their unicameral parliament declared independence on September 18, 1946. But this time, World War II was over, and the Danish king rejected their independence. Instead, he dissolved the Faroe Islands parliament and maneuvered to increase anti-independence representation in the subsequent parliament. Greenland is also on track to declare independence from Denmark. In 1979, Greenland achieved home rule, and in 2009, the island moved towards greater autonomy and self-rule. The numbers are overwhelming. Recent polls indicate that approximately 84% of Greenlanders are in favor of independence from Denmark. But the big question is how approximately 57,000 people can maintain their standard of living without Danish subsidies and foreign protection.
So, why is the Danish social Democrat prime minister determined to undermine a good relationship with the United States over an island in the Northern Hemisphere that’s inhabited by a population that doesn’t want to be Danish? You might not recall, but we purchased the United States Virgin Islands from Denmark in the 1917 Treaty of the Danish West Indies for $25 million. Thus, false indignation that the purchase of territory isn’t a standard geopolitical practice is unjustified. Regarding Greenland, Denmark seems to be needlessly expending political capital on a failing colonial vestige that doesn’t want them. In a perfect world, independent-minded Greenlanders might not want the United States either, but the world we live in isn’t perfect. In our world, there is fierce competition for the Arctic between the United States, China and Russia.
If pollsters framed questions for Greenlanders asking whether they’d rather be American, Chinese or Russian citizens, I suspect they’d overwhelmingly choose the United States of America.
Dr. Tobias Vogt von Heselholt (shortened to “Vote”) is a retired U.S. Army officer, former professor, author, and elected member of the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. For more, see his author page at Amazon.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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