An Alternative to Buying Greenland That Could Actually Work

Curb your enthusiasm: America is not buying Greenland from Denmark. There is, nevertheless, another way to secure our vital security interests in the vast island nation that is much more realistic: signing a Compact of Free Association (COFA).

Americans, perhaps including President-elect Trump, tend not to realize that Greenland is not a distant Danish province. It is a distinct nation that is in communion with the Danish Crown. It governs itself in virtually all respects apart from foreign policy and defense. It has its own parliament, levies its own taxes, and even has its own diplomatic representative in the United States.

About the Author

Henry Olsen

Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of The Working-Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism.

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Curb your enthusiasm: America is not buying Greenland from Denmark. There is, nevertheless, another way to secure our vital security interests in the vast island nation that is much more realistic: signing a Compact of Free Association (COFA).

Americans, perhaps including President-elect Trump, tend not to realize that Greenland is not a distant Danish province. It is a distinct nation that is in communion with the Danish Crown. It governs itself in virtually all respects apart from foreign policy and defense. It has its own parliament, levies its own taxes, and even has its own diplomatic representative in the United States.

About the Author

Henry Olsen

Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the author of The Working-Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism.