Senator Lisa Murkowski: ‘Greenland is Key to North American Security, Just Plain and Simple’

WASHINGTON — Alaska United States Senator Lisa Murkowski emphasized Greenland’s role in North American security, but argued President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about potentially acquiring the territory has made cooperation more difficult, in a June 25 interview.

Following a June 25 Hudson Institute event, “Navigating Competition in the Central Arctic Ocean” in downtown Washington, D.C., Murkowski (R-AK) told Media Milwaukee that Greenland is “key” to North American security despite her criticism of President Donald Trump’s threats toward potentially acquiring Greenland.

“When we think about the role that Greenland plays in U.S. security, I put it in the North American security because we can’t cover it all,” the Republican senator said. “We can’t cover it without Canada; we can’t cover the east end without Greenland, and so this is all key to a more integrated system.”

Murkowski’s criticism of the president’s handling of the geopolitical spotlight on Greenland stems from his rhetoric, and when a leader says, “we’re going to take over, or we’re going to acquire” land, it is “scary” and “threatening to the people who live there.”

“It makes conversations harder,” Murkowski said. “And I don’t think we want to have the conversations harder.”

There is an effort underway with a “working group” to dial the rhetoric back, due to the existing 1951 Defense of Greenland agreement that establishes the United States can utilize the world’s largest island for military purposes, said Murkowski, who has been in the U.S. Senate since 2002.

“We had at one point in time 17 different small installations but basically platforms where the United States had military or security interests,” Murkowski said. “It doesn’t require a takeover; it doesn’t require threats; it requires sitting down with Greenland because Greenland is also seeking their shared defense as well.”

Greenland’s northern position serves an important purpose in protecting and monitoring the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, a strategic maritime chokepoint in the North Atlantic Ocean. The gap is critical in identifying potential naval and submarine threats from adversaries coming from the north, such as Russia.

Murkowski described the GIUK gap as “hugely significant” for identifying activities in the region, noting it falls under the “NATO umbrella” of oversight the United States and its allies have in the Baltic region via the eastern side of Greenland.

In the past, specifically during World War II, when the U.S. protected and cared for Greenland after Denmark fell to the Nazi’s, the territory was infested with U.S. military bases. Nowadays, there is one active military base, the Pituffik Space Base, located in the remote and obscure northern part of Greenland.

Despite the race for Arctic dominance between global superpowers — the U.S., China and Russia — Murkowski said the base is “more than adequate” to cover current operations in the region; however, hypothetically, if the U.S. were to be basing a specific aircraft, there would be “capacity challenges” due to the harsh winter environment.

“You don’t have a year-round accessible deep-water port there,” Murkowski said. “So having the availability to have sites in southern Greenland, I think, is something that, given what is happening globally with the Chinese and the Russian interests, I think we’re smart to have these conversations with Greenland about shared security interests.”

Although overshadowed by conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, the geopolitical spotlight on Greenland remains bright, in a region that was once dubbed the “zone of peace” by former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Murkowski concluded that U.S. allies Denmark and Greenland deserve respect at a time of immense tension.

“The people of the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland are our friends and allies, and they’ve proven that over the years,” Murkowski said. “We need to treat them with respect.”

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This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into Greenland’s people, history, and culture. It was created by an advanced reporting class in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on Edge of the Arctic: Greenland, the Land of the People.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.