Greenland Acquisition unlikely, Former Trump Advisor Says, as Strategic Focus Shifts to Minerals and AI
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A potential US acquisition of Greenland is highly improbable, according to a former top advisor to President Trump, with the focus increasingly centered on securing access to critical minerals and bolstering strategic technological advantages in artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The assessment comes as the World Economic forum in Davos is overshadowed by the President’s recent rhetoric regarding the Arctic territory.
Former White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, now vice chairman at IBM, stated unequivocally that “Greenland will stay Greenland,” but linked the President’s interest to the island’s vast, largely untapped reserves of rare earth minerals. This revelation underscores a shifting strategic landscape where resource control and technological dominance are paramount.
While a purchase is off the table, Cohn affirmed that Greenland would likely welcome an increased US military presence, given the growing strategic importance of the north Atlantic and Arctic Ocean.
Minerals, Military Presence, and Negotiation Tactics
Beyond a potential military foothold, the US is exploring the possibility of negotiating an “offtake” agreement for Greenland’s substantial reserves of rare earth minerals.These minerals are crucial components in the advancement of cutting-edge technologies like AI and quantum computing, areas where the US is locked in a global race for leadership.
Cohn suggested the President’s public statements regarding Greenland may be a calculated negotiating tactic. “You’ve got to give Donald Trump some credit for the successes he’s had and he’s many times tried to overreach to get something in a compromise situation,” he explained. “He has overreached in advertising something to end up getting what he actually wants. Maybe what he actually wants is a larger military presence and an offtake.”
Broader Strategic Interests at Play
The focus on Greenland is not isolated. Cohn revealed that the Trump administration has broader strategic motives, citing the intervention in Venezuela as an attempt to disrupt China’s access to Venezuelan oil, as well as relationships with Russia and Cuba. This highlights a larger pattern of the administration seeking to reshape global power dynamics.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed claims that the President’s escalating threats regarding Greenland were motivated by a perceived snub – the lack of a Nobel Peace Prize. Bessent stated, “I don’t know anything about the president’s letter to Norway, and I think it’s complete canard that the President will be doing this because of the Nobel Prize.” He emphasized that the President views Greenland as a “strategic asset for the united States,” and that the US will not “outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else.”
The rise of AI and Quantum Computing
Developments in quantum computing and AI are increasingly recognized as critical not onyl for US economic productivity but also for maintaining US strategic influence globally. IBM,under Cohn’s leadership,is at the forefront of this technological revolution. “IBM is dead center in what’s going on in quantum today. We have the largest amount of quantum computers in use today,” Cohn stated, adding that the company is deploying these computers across various sectors, from banking to medicine.
He further explained that AI will serve as the “backbone for data that feeds into quantum to solve problems we’ve never been able to solve.” The integration of AI and quantum computing is poised to transform businesses across all industries, with Cohn predicting that AI will become an integral part of every enterprise within the next three to five years.Google recently announced it had developed the world’s best-performing quantum computer, further intensifying the competition in this critical field.
The race to develop these technologies is a central theme at the World Economic Forum, alongside the ongoing discussions surrounding Greenland’s future.The convergence of geopolitical strategy, resource control, and technological innovation is shaping a new era of global competition.
