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The Illogical Case Behind Buying Greenland
The Illogical Case Behind Buying Greenland
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0:00
this is station Nord in Greenland it's a
0:03
Danish base as the territory is part of
0:06
the Kingdom of Denmark and therefore the
0:08
European country is responsible for its
0:10
defense station Nord ranks as the
0:12
northernmost Danish base and the second
0:14
northernmost continuously inhabited
0:16
place on Earth therefore the job of the
0:18
six soldiers stationed there is largely
0:20
just to keep it inhabitable militarily
0:23
it doesn't have tremendous purpose
0:25
Beyond existing the Danes say to search
0:27
their sovereignty in the vast emptiness
0:29
of Northern in Greenland perhaps the
0:31
6,000 ft gravel Runway is of some
0:33
strategic value but really it's a
0:35
research Camp that happens to be run by
0:37
the Danish military all summer long it
0:40
sees a Non-Stop Roda of scientists it's
0:43
a similar story down in meig this is an
0:46
old base that at this point is pretty
0:48
much just maintained and is occasionally
0:50
used for scientific purposes perhaps the
0:53
best known of Denmark's Arctic
0:55
installations is dorg that's because
0:57
it's the base of the country's primary
0:59
military capabilities in the region dog
1:01
slide patrols this function originated
1:04
in World War II when Nazi forces were
1:06
hiding weather stations in eastern
1:07
Greenland in order to improve the
1:09
accuracy of their forecasts in support
1:10
of their military Pursuits and still to
1:13
this day the dog sleds are the Danish
1:14
military's primary means of patrolling
1:16
almost 10,000 mes of Coastline teams of
1:19
two set out for multi-month Missions
1:21
hopping between resupply Huts refilled
1:23
by boat and aircraft during the summer
1:25
months and taking years to complete one
1:27
full patrol of the coast but dog sled
1:29
control of course does little Beyond
1:32
assert sovereignty aside from that
1:34
there's technically a small Danish
1:36
installation at kusak airport as it's
1:38
home to the one and only Danish military
1:40
aircraft permanently stationed in
1:42
Greenland a bombardier cl604 Challenger
1:44
surveillance aircraft but that's pretty
1:46
much the entirety of Danish military
1:48
presence north of the Arctic Circle a
1:50
couple of bases staffed by a couple
1:52
dozen personnel and some dogs this
1:55
military geography or lack thereof forms
1:58
part of the basis for the most recent
2:00
proposal for the us to just outright
2:02
purchase Greenland Denmark is a NATO
2:05
member and therefore some military
2:07
leaders in the US are concerned about
2:09
such a lack of defense capability in
2:11
such a large region so close to the US
2:14
of course the proposal appears
2:16
Preposterous at first large land
2:19
purchases by one country from another
2:21
have not meaningfully happened since the
2:23
era of colonialism and the Very appeal
2:25
of the idea is rooted in the same manner
2:27
of exploitation of a territory's
2:29
resources be them human or natural
2:32
Greenland however is in a unique
2:34
situation it's not quite like Canada or
2:37
Mexico or the Panama Canal or the Gaza
2:39
Strip or any of the other slices of
2:41
Earth American president Trump has
2:43
proposed annexing Greenland acts as an
2:45
autonomous self-governing territory of
2:47
the Kingdom of Denmark it's similar to
2:50
the relationship between Scotland and
2:51
the UK for example culturally
2:54
politically and geographically it's
2:56
almost entirely isolated from Denmark
2:58
but less so economic I Ally Denmark pays
3:01
for about 2/3 of Greenland's government
3:03
budget and its contributions add up to
3:05
about a quarter of the territory's GDP
3:08
meanwhile Greenland pays no taxes to
3:10
Denmark it's a one-way flow of money
3:13
therefore looking at it at the simplest
3:15
possible level excluding politics
3:17
culture history any of the Practical
3:20
concerns or the way people actually feel
3:22
in reality right now it's easy to grasp
3:24
a scenario where all parties come out
3:26
happy the US gets the territory it wants
3:29
Greenland gets a greater cash inflow in
3:30
exchange and Denmark stops having to
3:32
send hundreds of millions of dollars a
3:34
year to a far-off territory but
3:36
considering the core of the purported
3:38
value is wrapped up in the Strategic
3:40
Benefit for the military examining the
3:42
need requires an understanding of the
3:44
military geography across the entire far
3:47
north and here nestled on the coast of
3:50
Northstar Bay is the simplest
3:52
explanation for how Denmark can have
3:54
such a minor presence in its massive
3:57
territory this is the United States's
3:59
largest Arctic installation pic space
4:02
base compared to the Danish equivalence
4:05
this is colossal it's got a 10,000 ft
4:08
3,000 M Runway it's staffed by about 600
4:11
Personnel it's got the world's
4:13
northernmost deep water Port it's really
4:15
a fully equipped US military base like
4:17
those that dot the entire world just
4:20
really really far north it location
4:23
makes it a 3 to 4 hour flight to all of
4:26
Russia's northern coast or just over 5
4:28
hours to Moscow given this proximity the
4:30
bases population peaked at more than
4:32
10,000 during the height of tensions
4:34
with the Soviet Union in the' 60s today
4:37
it's Ro centers around missile tracking
4:39
signals intelligence and satellite
4:40
Communications although it regularly
4:42
hosts fighter jets and other offensive
4:44
aircraft to train for their operations
4:45
in the environment should the need arise
4:47
in a conflict pic however is an anomaly
4:51
it is by far the largest military
4:54
facility west of the primeridian and
4:56
north of the Arctic Circle its next
4:58
nearest neighboring facil is Canadian
5:00
Forces station alert an hour's flight to
5:03
the north not much detail is publicly
5:05
known about what specifically the
5:07
station does but broadly it's a joint
5:09
Canadian American signals intelligence
5:11
facility taking advantage of the
5:13
location for surveillance and monitoring
5:14
of whatever NATO the us or Canada deems
5:17
a threat physically it's closer to
5:19
Moscow than it is to Ottawa which
5:21
historically allowed for greater
5:23
surveillance capabilities on the Soviet
5:24
Union and today allows the same with
5:26
Russia it's so far north in fact that
5:29
the curvature of the earth prevents it
5:31
from having a line of sight with
5:32
communication satellites in
5:33
geosynchronous orbit around the equator
5:36
therefore the Canadians built a network
5:38
of microwave repeaters on mountain tops
5:40
across elmir Island that each have line
5:42
of sight with each other allowing
5:44
Transmissions to reach satellites via
5:45
Eureka a small combo research military
5:48
base that is just far enough South to
5:50
see the satellites there's also a
5:52
Canadian military presence down on
5:53
baffan Island at the Nev Civic Naval
5:56
facility which is on the cusp of opening
5:58
following more than a decade of of
5:59
construction delays its purpose is
6:01
pretty simple it's home to two big
6:03
storage tanks to refuel Canadian Naval
6:05
vessels allowing them to patrol longer
6:07
and further into the Arctic which is
6:09
something the military is Keen to do as
6:11
sea I shrinks and the waterways become
6:12
navigable for more weeks each year
6:15
beyond that there's a training facility
6:16
in Resolute Bay and as far as major
6:19
permanent Canadian military facilities
6:21
in the Arctic go that's about it to the
6:25
West one might expect that the most
6:27
militarized country on Earth would also
6:28
have the most mil militarized Arctic
6:30
territory but that's far from the case
6:33
in fact the only Permanent American
6:35
facilities north of the Arctic Circle in
6:37
Alaska are long range radar sites used
6:40
by NORAD for early detection of missiles
6:42
aircraft and other potential threats
6:44
although these days they are primarily
6:46
run by civilian contractors who fly in
6:48
and out of the attached airfields to do
6:50
work most are not staffed full-time
6:53
particularly by enlisted service members
6:56
just south of the Arctic Circle though
6:57
is a far more significant presence
7:00
clustered primarily around Fairbanks is
7:01
a series of bases with the full gamut of
7:04
US military capabilities there's the
7:06
largest concentration of fifth
7:07
generation fighter jets in the world the
7:10
core of the US's anti-ballistic missile
7:12
defense system 20,000 active duty troops
7:15
it's a massive cluster of might but it's
7:18
historically been optimized less for
7:19
projecting power to the north but more
7:21
so to protect from eastbound threats
7:24
from Russia North Korea China and other
7:27
Asian Nations considering it's on the
7:28
great circle path between the two
7:30
continents Russia's Arctic posture
7:33
however is quite different tracking
7:36
Westward it starts modest the country's
7:39
easternmost facility of any significance
7:41
is referred to as Polar Star
7:43
coincidentally it was built in a town
7:45
that was originally established to
7:46
assert Russian sovereignty on the island
7:48
as the Americans and Canadians attempted
7:50
to claim it a century ago that town sat
7:52
empty after the last resident was killed
7:54
by a polar bear in 2003 but in its place
7:57
the Russian military built this small
7:59
base it's only accessible by helicopter
8:01
and boat and little is known about what
8:03
happens there beyond the operations of
8:05
this radar facility and the associated
8:07
anti-aircraft missile systems but
8:09
without an Airfield it has little
8:11
offensive capability that's why a 2-hour
8:14
flight to the West they're building this
8:17
temp Air Base this Outpost has existed
8:19
since the ' 50s and like most of the
8:22
country's military facilities in the
8:23
Arctic it closed following the collapse
8:25
of the Soviet Union but then over the
8:28
past decade it's not only reopened but
8:30
has been built up into a hugely capable
8:33
facility the latest high-quality
8:34
satellite imagery doesn't even show it
8:36
but what was a gravel airst strip has
8:38
since been upgraded into a 6,900 ft 2100
8:42
met paved Runway capable of
8:43
accommodating most military aircraft
8:45
year round the corresponding base is
8:48
massive compared to most equivalents at
8:50
this latitude housing around 250
8:52
personnel and that's not even the
8:54
country's most capable Arctic Base to
8:56
the West there's Russia's northernmost
8:58
base which also since this imagery
9:01
was taken paved this Runway and expanded
9:03
it to 11,500 Ft or 3500 M allowing it to
9:07
host truly any aircraft including
9:10
fighter jets in fact in 2021 Russia flew
9:13
Two fighter jets from the base to the
9:14
North Pole as a show of force the
9:17
growing capability of this base paired
9:19
with its geography has rattled the West
9:21
nagar sky is less than a 3our flight to
9:24
Pacific space base and it's also the
9:26
closest Russian Airbase to Washington DC
9:29
n is backed up by rogachevo Airbase a
9:31
90-minute flight to the South and then
9:33
there are a few more minor facilities
9:35
scattered along the country's northern
9:37
coast there's also a huge concentration
9:39
of military might on the cola Peninsula
9:41
bordering Norway and Finland although
9:43
NATO also has a significant buildup in
9:45
this region it's in part a byproduct of
9:48
the fact that this is the most
9:49
hospitable and populated region of the
9:51
Arctic thanks to the comparatively warm
9:53
air brought in by the Gulf Stream but
9:55
throughout the rest of the Arctic the
9:56
distribution of facilities tells a
9:58
pretty succinct story Russia has been
10:02
far more concerned than pretty much any
10:04
country in building up its military
10:06
presence in the far north of course dots
10:08
on maps aren't what truly matters
10:11
militarily they're a proxy for
10:13
capability and capability is what
10:16
matters in Conflict but there too Russia
10:19
appears to have the upper hand Beyond
10:21
its bases the primary manner in which
10:23
the US is able to bring military
10:25
capability to anywhere is through its
10:27
Naval resources it has has one of the
10:29
largest and almost certainly most
10:31
powerful navies in the world and between
10:33
Cruisers destroyers aircraft carriers
10:36
and more it's capable of bringing a huge
10:38
amount of force truly anywhere except
10:41
the Arctic some Marines can operate in
10:44
the Arctic year round since they float
10:46
beneath the ice but beyond that no other
10:48
us ships have hardened holes capable of
10:51
cutting through sea ice that means that
10:53
for the majority of the year the Arctic
10:55
is the one area of the world to which
10:58
the US can't project Power by sea of
11:01
course the solution to this is
11:03
icebreakers they not only can access
11:05
Frozen areas themselves but they can cut
11:07
a channel for other ships that lack
11:09
hardened holes the US has three of these
11:12
all operated by the US Coast Guard
11:14
Russia meanwhile has 41 of them this
11:18
includes a series of brand new nuclear
11:20
powerered icebreakers that are more
11:21
powerful and longer ranged than any
11:24
other in the world and this imbalance
11:26
exists across just about every military
11:28
capabil in the Arctic whatever the US
11:31
has Russia has more of they have more
11:34
training more equipment designed for the
11:36
extreme cold more snow capable Vehicles
11:38
more ports more airfields their GPS
11:41
alternative navigation system glas even
11:44
has more satellites reaching higher
11:45
latitudes giving it better coverage in
11:47
the polar regions and all of these
11:50
capabilities especially in the period
11:51
leading up to Russia's invasion of
11:53
Ukraine have been growing faster than at
11:55
any time since the Cold War it's become
11:58
a cliche over the last last decade to
12:00
call the renewed interest in the far
12:01
north as a race for the Arctic but ever
12:04
since 2007 when an emboldened Russia
12:06
planted its flag underwater on the North
12:08
Pole it's been hard to think of it as
12:10
anything less and it's been hard to
12:12
think of any Nation aside from Russia as
12:14
the current leader in that race in just
12:16
about all metrics Russia's leading the
12:19
way but while Russia's actions have
12:21
encouraged a response by the rest of the
12:23
world to hurriedly catch up Russia for
12:26
its part has viewed its northern
12:27
activity as less an exceptional push
12:30
into an underdeveloped corner of the map
12:32
and more a natural progression as part
12:34
of a larger cohesive defense strategy
12:37
this all centers around the cola
12:39
peninsula in the past decade Russia has
12:42
heavily reinvested in this region by
12:44
modernizing the Severa Mor air bases and
12:46
upgrading the Okala and gavo submarine
12:49
bases critically though this is
12:52
reinvestment historically the facilities
12:54
along this peninsula were Central to
12:56
Soviet defense and as Russia's relations
12:58
with the West have gotten colder while
13:00
its Ambitions have grown larger they're
13:02
viewing the Region's defense
13:03
capabilities as vitally important once
13:05
again as analysts have noted this
13:08
investment has little to do with any
13:09
sort of Race To The Arctic or the Arctic
13:12
itself and more to do with a return to a
13:14
strategy called Bastion defense
13:17
effectively the country wants to create
13:19
an air and seab buffer between itself
13:21
and other nations that ensures freedom
13:23
of movement across the baren and
13:25
Norwegian Seas for its northern Fleet
13:27
along with its increasingly important
13:28
Northern natural gas industry what makes
13:31
this particular Bastion so critical for
13:33
Russian defense is the fact that this
13:35
area Harbors what's believed to be about
13:37
2third of Russia's Nuclear Strike
13:39
capabilities in its ballistic missile
13:40
submarines which operates as a key
13:42
nuclear deterrent and the nation's
13:44
second strike capabilities should it be
13:46
attacked so while at the periphery of
13:48
the world from most's perspective this
13:50
area is already Central to Russian
13:52
defense which means increased traffic
13:54
creates an increasingly paranoid Russia
13:57
the invasion of Ukraine has only added
13:59
to the paranoia for one Russia's
14:02
Invasion has shaken up the map of the
14:03
high North pushing the long neutral
14:05
Neighbors in Finland and Sweden to join
14:07
NATO making the high North a 7-1 split
14:10
between NATO and non-nato Nations while
14:13
a repercussion of their own actions this
14:15
has only served to further the sense of
14:17
encirclement for Russian military
14:18
planners and making Russia more
14:20
concerned is the fact that it was the
14:22
northern fleet's ground resources that
14:24
led the invasion into Ukraine in the
14:26
first place in late January and early
14:28
February of 2022 when Russian onlookers
14:31
began to share on social media train
14:32
load after train load moving tanks and
14:34
army trucks South it was resources being
14:37
mobilized from the Arctic that they were
14:39
capturing in the weeks that followed
14:41
those resources much of the 200th
14:43
Brigade were dramatically beaten back
14:45
then bogged down on the outskirts of K
14:48
ensuring there'd be no quick return
14:50
while exact numbers are difficult to
14:52
come by only an estimated fifth of the
14:54
200th Brigade has remained stationed on
14:56
the cola Peninsula while the failed
14:58
attempt to seize K decimated the fleet's
15:00
ground forces at the same time that
15:02
Russia has moved troops away from the
15:04
high North the high North has also
15:06
become more economically Central to the
15:08
country total trade across the North Sea
15:10
route hit an all-time high in 2022 while
15:13
new l& terminals above the Arctic Circle
15:16
went online using the North Sea route to
15:18
move product to China and with the
15:20
subsequent sanctions that came with
15:21
Invasion Russia has diverted traffic of
15:24
crude oil Bound for Asia through the
15:25
Arctic while reportedly beginning to
15:27
build a ghost Fleet of tankers that have
15:29
been quietly tracking across the region
15:31
to avoid sanctions entirely taken
15:34
together what's long been understood
15:35
from a Russian perspective as a military
15:37
stronghold has become increasingly
15:39
important economically increasingly
15:41
hostile militarily and increasingly
15:44
vulnerable feeling cornered the nation
15:46
has taken to lashing out with aggressive
15:48
military Maneuvers joint military
15:50
exercises with China and going as far as
15:53
destroying infrastructure like undersea
15:55
cables much of the sensationalism of the
15:57
increasing military importance of the
15:59
Arctic then can be explained by the
16:01
Collision of two very different
16:03
geopolitical narratives in the west the
16:05
US and its allies in NATO are
16:07
dramatically falling behind Russia in
16:09
Arctic capabilities so it must rush to
16:11
catch up in Russia it seems the rest of
16:14
the world is pushing to encircle and
16:15
endanger its northern coast and an area
16:18
strategically important for its defense
16:19
and its economy so it must dig in but
16:23
both these competing narratives run into
16:25
a stark reality of which Greenland sits
16:27
directly in the middle there's just not
16:29
a lot of actual infrastructure military
16:31
civilian or otherwise in the upper
16:33
reaches of the Arctic all real American
16:36
and Russian might hovers around the very
16:38
edge of the Arctic Circle while the
16:39
island and its military personnel
16:41
numbered in the hundreds from a
16:43
strategic perspective represents largely
16:45
a blank space on the map China for one
16:49
has come knocking with a reversal of a
16:51
rare Earth elements mining ban in 2013
16:54
By Greenland's Parliament the Island's
16:56
Rich natural resources caught the eye of
16:58
investors Chinese firms seeking to back
17:00
uranium mining in the islands South zinc
17:02
mining in the islands North and oil
17:04
field production off its Coast had all
17:06
begun doing their due diligence on how
17:08
to open up shop in 2025 the 10 Breeze
17:11
mine in southern Greenland
17:13
optimistically projected to produce over
17:15
half of the global non-chinese Rare
17:17
Earth elements went up for sale and
17:19
garnered heavy Chinese interests only
17:22
heavy American and danish lobbying in
17:24
early 2025 pushed the sale to an
17:26
American firm for reportedly a fraction
17:28
of market value in each case of Chinese
17:31
mining interest the fear of the nation's
17:33
increased influence in the region has
17:34
pushed the projects back but these
17:36
increasingly accessible Rare Earth
17:38
elements are bound to keep International
17:40
firms coming back it stands to reason
17:42
given the demand of the potential
17:44
economic windfall for the island that
17:46
it's only a matter of time before a
17:47
foreign mining company gets a real
17:49
foothold and still the commercial appeal
17:52
is dwarfed by the Strategic and defense
17:55
appeal there's just really no land mass
17:57
as centrally located to the high Arctic
17:59
as Greenland and no place that so
18:01
cleanly splits The Divide between East
18:03
and West nor sits so near to critical
18:05
seaways that serve as entrance and exit
18:07
to the high North seemingly so far
18:10
beyond the purview of Denmark's Focus
18:12
for the embolden it feels up for grabs
18:14
given Denmark's self-admitted lack of
18:16
Defense investment in the island the
18:18
US's increasingly bad faith dealing with
18:20
the rest of the world and the vamping
18:21
narrative tension in the Arctic the
18:23
future of Greenland can be presented as
18:25
a rhetorical this or that if not America
18:29
then who but Greenland is not empty its
18:32
people do have a say nato is not just an
18:35
empty vassel for the US to control and
18:37
Denmark though behind is not asleep at
18:40
the wheel in response to president
18:42
Trump's rhetoric Greenland's prime
18:43
minister has held talks with European
18:45
leaders about maintaining its
18:46
semi-autonomous standing NATO countries
18:48
have talked about deploying troops to
18:50
Greenland and Denmark's announced two
18:52
billion dollar in increased defense
18:54
spending for the islands the capability
18:57
Gap in the Arctic is real
18:59
it's clear that for a US military so
19:02
accustomed to unequivocal superiority
19:04
the imbalance in infrastructure and
19:06
experience is uncomfortable what's less
19:09
clear is how Sovereign control of
19:11
Greenland would help that the US already
19:14
has a major military presence in the
19:16
territory and there's never been a major
19:18
impediment to operations or expansions
19:20
at pic space base due to the lack of
19:22
sovereignty in fact over recent years
19:25
the US has announced plans to upgrade
19:27
and expand the facility and will Danish
19:29
and greenlandic authorities didn't
19:30
immediately agree a short negotiation
19:32
with a few concessions led to rather
19:34
Swift approval outside of Greenland
19:37
other NATO members like Canada also
19:39
recognize the gaps in the alliance's
19:41
Arctic footprint so they are already
19:42
spending huge sums to upgrade their
19:45
facilities and capabilities surely they
19:47
would be happy for the US to spend those
19:49
huge sums in their territory instead to
19:52
military leaders the status quo is
19:54
untenable but considering how minuscule
19:57
the US's Arctic capab ities are there's
20:00
enormous ability to expand before it
20:02
becomes necessary to just buy
20:06
Greenland rather than do a normal ad
20:08
read here I just want to play the
20:10
trailer to the newest show produced by
20:11
Wendover Productions it's called abolish
20:16
everything do you ever feel like we'd
20:18
all be better off If Everyone likes
20:20
stuff less and yelled at each other more
20:21
you're holding the door open on the
20:23
train are
20:25
you deep underground in New York City
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radical movement is taking shape and I'd
20:30
like you to join us each night gathered
20:33
in our meeting house four Brave
20:35
abolitionists will tell us why we should
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eliminate some aspect of society forever
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abolish the dentist speaker phone B
20:45
stretching yeah here we bring it on and
20:48
their testimony will be heard and
20:49
rebutted by the political establishment
20:52
a panel of improvisers hellbent on
20:54
preserving the status quo the boys want
20:56
to see you don't want to hear you so why
20:58
do you hate what God gave to you have
21:00
you ever taken a lot of Aderall for your
21:03
body the only way to stop a bad guy with
21:05
a speaker phone is a good guy with a
21:07
speaker phone at the end of the show the
21:09
people will decide what gets abolished
21:11
who gets this cartoonish stack of coins
21:13
with a dollar sign on it and who
21:15
receives an invitation to our world
21:16
championship season finale standup
21:19
improv PowerPoint presentations if our
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movement is successful all of these
21:23
things will eventually be
21:25
banned this is a Polish everything
21:29
[Applause]
21:35
y the first episode of abolish
21:38
everything is already out and more are
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coming out every two weeks exclusively
21:41
on nebula and a lot of people seem to be
21:43
really enjoying it it's obviously pretty
21:45
different from what we've made in the
21:47
past but I think it's the kind of Comedy
21:48
that will appeal especially to Wendover
21:50
fans as comedians make rather ridiculous
21:52
PowerPoint presentations Loosely
21:54
grounded in reality to pitch their case
21:56
to the political establishment if you
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want to watch this this or any of
21:59
nebula's great unique nebula Originals
22:01
use the link
