dodger: "It costs Denmark a lot to manage with very few Greenlander Danes and to no real advantage (and the price no where near trillions)."
The cost of Denmark's subsidies to Greenland represents around 10% of Denmark's annual defense spending -- for the US, that would be the equivalent of nearly $100 billion per year.
Greenland's area is about 836,000 square miles, meaning any cost per square mile over $1,000 puts the total into the trillions of dollars.
Greenland has many untapped natural resources, including rare earth metals, gold, coal and uranium -- though there's no available estimate for the total value of such resources.
It might be $trillions, or not, and how much is buried under ice too thick to reach?
Would Denmark want to sell Greenland?
Would Greenlanders want to become Americans?
Who knows?
Greenland’s area is about 836,000 square miles,
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Greenland’s area should be computed only on the ice free areas.
We may be miscommunicating. I am saying it would not cost the US trillions to obtain and maintain Greenland whereas it does cost Denmark far more - proportionately. If, as you say, it is as a fixed sum 10% of their military budget it would be a vastly lesser proportion of ours. So too annual carrying costs. Huge strategic upside at marginal cost.