Great read. Brief but comprehensive analysis. Thanks for putting this all together. I still think there will come a time post-Trump when we’ll be returning things to an earlier order like an embarrassed mom after her unruly kid has rampaged through the department store.
Fantastic deep dive. The Danish West Indies analogy is way more instructive than Louisiana/Alaska comparisons—it captures the strategic denial logic without the expansion narrative. What I find most compeling is how the GIUK Gap basically makes Greenland a natural geographic veto point rather than an asset to be exploited. During the Cold War we built entire naval doctrine around chokepoint control; now we're debating sovereignty over the chokepoint itself. I worked on Arctic security assessments a few years back and the "Mediterranean not Pacific" framing is spot-on—everyone overstates shipping potential and understates access controll realities.
I know Alligator Alcatraz seemed like theatrical cruelty until members of Congress and the press showed up and exposed what was really happening. I'm worried Greenland follows a similar pattern—not as trolling, but as infrastructure for something darker. Consider the logistics: -- 90% ice sheet—a mile-thick plateau with no mountains, plants, or animals -- Under 60,000 people total, all in tiny coastal towns—the inland is completely uninhabited -- An island twice the size of Texas with minimal international oversight If this administration wanted to isolate detained individuals beyond scrutiny—protesters, asylum seekers, political opponents—Greenland offers natural containment that makes escape or rescue nearly impossible. I'm not saying this is the plan. I'm saying the conditions make abuse tragically easy, and this administration has already shown willingness to push boundaries we thought were firm. Given Miller and Hegseth's track record, shouldn't we be asking hard questions before infrastructure gets built, not after? I hope I'm wrong. But dismissing this as noise feels dangerous.
Great read - and I appreciate your podcasts so much. I would like to make the point that you and Marko are seriously underestimating the deteriorating mind of Trump. If you have ever observed the cognitive decline into old age of a formerly high achieving man (corporate CEOs, executives), Trump’s is eerily familiar. He may have many moments of clarity, but many that are not. Unfortunately, he is surrounded by his own cult members who can’t be objective. We need the next generation to save us from the tyranny of the octogenarians.
The German frigate Saxony was on a routine NATO rotation, but by the time most people learned about it, they encountered it pre-framed as "Germany deploys to fight American fascism" (1.15M views). The UK-Germany-France talks you mention? Reframed as "UK declined US invasion request" (1.88M views).
None of this is coordinated disinformation. It's emergent effects from platform mechanics. And its changing people's minds.
Great read. Brief but comprehensive analysis. Thanks for putting this all together. I still think there will come a time post-Trump when we’ll be returning things to an earlier order like an embarrassed mom after her unruly kid has rampaged through the department store.
Make America Cucked Again. I would kill myself
Fantastic deep dive. The Danish West Indies analogy is way more instructive than Louisiana/Alaska comparisons—it captures the strategic denial logic without the expansion narrative. What I find most compeling is how the GIUK Gap basically makes Greenland a natural geographic veto point rather than an asset to be exploited. During the Cold War we built entire naval doctrine around chokepoint control; now we're debating sovereignty over the chokepoint itself. I worked on Arctic security assessments a few years back and the "Mediterranean not Pacific" framing is spot-on—everyone overstates shipping potential and understates access controll realities.
I know Alligator Alcatraz seemed like theatrical cruelty until members of Congress and the press showed up and exposed what was really happening. I'm worried Greenland follows a similar pattern—not as trolling, but as infrastructure for something darker. Consider the logistics: -- 90% ice sheet—a mile-thick plateau with no mountains, plants, or animals -- Under 60,000 people total, all in tiny coastal towns—the inland is completely uninhabited -- An island twice the size of Texas with minimal international oversight If this administration wanted to isolate detained individuals beyond scrutiny—protesters, asylum seekers, political opponents—Greenland offers natural containment that makes escape or rescue nearly impossible. I'm not saying this is the plan. I'm saying the conditions make abuse tragically easy, and this administration has already shown willingness to push boundaries we thought were firm. Given Miller and Hegseth's track record, shouldn't we be asking hard questions before infrastructure gets built, not after? I hope I'm wrong. But dismissing this as noise feels dangerous.
Great read - and I appreciate your podcasts so much. I would like to make the point that you and Marko are seriously underestimating the deteriorating mind of Trump. If you have ever observed the cognitive decline into old age of a formerly high achieving man (corporate CEOs, executives), Trump’s is eerily familiar. He may have many moments of clarity, but many that are not. Unfortunately, he is surrounded by his own cult members who can’t be objective. We need the next generation to save us from the tyranny of the octogenarians.
One dimension I'd add: the information warfare layer is actively reshaping the constraints you identify, particularly #3 (NATO cohesion).
I've been tracking the viral posts around Greenland ( https://thedisinformationobserver.substack.com/p/the-four-stories-of-greenland-europes ), and what's striking is how temporal compression between events and narrative is creating policy friction.
The German frigate Saxony was on a routine NATO rotation, but by the time most people learned about it, they encountered it pre-framed as "Germany deploys to fight American fascism" (1.15M views). The UK-Germany-France talks you mention? Reframed as "UK declined US invasion request" (1.88M views).
None of this is coordinated disinformation. It's emergent effects from platform mechanics. And its changing people's minds.
Great analysis, Jacob. Comprehensive and super informative. Thank you!!
Text the White House please 🙏 please 🙏 45470 ***DONT’T invade Greenland!! FUCK ICE!!
Agree with Neural Foundry, this was a great deep dive.
https://unherd.com/2026/01/the-space-war-will-be-won-in-greenland/
interest take here on the importance of greenland
Brilliant article Jacob. It was a super read