John M. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Colorado–

President Donald Trump is threatening to use both military and economic power to take control over Greenland. This is an outrageous insult to the Greenlandic people, the Inuit, and their right, defended by international law, to self-determination and to determine their own future. This insult has caused their righteous anger.

Greenland harbors immense mineral wealth, including rare earth elements (REEs) like neodymium and dysprosium—critical for batteries, wind turbines, and military tech—along with zinc, lead, gold, iron ore, copper, diamonds, and uranium. Potential offshore oil and gas reserves, estimated at 30 billion barrels by the USGS, add to its allure even though Greenland halted new exploration licenses in 2021 over climate concerns. Global warming, driven by capitalist exploitation, accelerates ice melt at 30 million tonnes per hour, exposing buried deposits for exploitation and opening Arctic shipping routes like the Northwest Passage. This eases extraction and transport, ironically fueling the very climate crisis that reveals these riches. Emissions from mining would further amplify warming, threatening Greenland’s ecosystems, coastal communities, and global sea levels— a vicious cycle where imperialism profits from the complete destruction of the environment.

This resource bonanza intensifies inter-imperialist competition as well. The US seeks to counter China’s “Polar Silk Road” investments and Russia’s militarized Arctic presence, while the EU and Denmark cling to colonial oversight. Trump’s fixation on Greenland stems from these dynamics, viewing it as vital for US dominance in Arctic “security” (in reality preparation for future intensified war mongering with Russia and China) and resource control. He has reiterated plans for acquisition “one way or the other,” including potential military operationsThis aggression targets Denmark’s oversight, aiming to replace it with direct US hegemony. During all this, the Greenlandic people as a matter of course have no say. They are viewed as a prize to be won by the military might of imperialist countries.

Currently under Danish influence as a post-colonial territory, Greenland faces no true liberation through US, EU, or NATO involvement, only deeper subjugation. Militarization surges with expanded bases and rearmament, burdening workers all over the world via austerity to fund the arms races of their overlord capitalists for each small crumb of the pie. Trump’s policies amplify this, straining alliances like NATO when US interests clash.

Imperialist pacts fracture under pressure, as seen in Trump’s coercion of allies. In contrast, working-class unity across borders promotes genuine solidarity against exploitation.

We reject nationalist divisions and oppose Trump’s annexation bids, Danish-EU maneuvers, and all imperial encroachments from China and Russia. 

Only the Greenlandic people have a right to decide their destiny! 

Support Greenlandic independence and class struggles for peace and equity!

Categories: Anti-War, Imperialism, U.S. News