Deploying part of President Trump’s Golden Dome missile shield to Greenland would make Americans even safer, experts say, as the giant Arctic island is “critically important” for the United States to stop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched by Russia and China.
Greenland’s strategic importance lies in its geography and shape.
The Danish territory, which is nearly four times the size of Texas, is likely to be in the path of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched by Russia or China. Greenland’s location in the Arctic Circle also means that a flight path over Greenland would be the shortest distance between Moscow and Washington.
“It’s technically important. It’s the ability to early detect when an intercontinental ballistic missile is being launched.” [from Russia]Greenland is the perfect place for that,” Justina Boujnaite-Flory, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the Post.
“Given Greenland’s geography and the missiles passing over Greenland, it makes perfect sense to strengthen our defenses there,” Bazinate-Flory continued. “[Going over Greenland from Russia] That’s the quickest route to the United States. ”
President Trump asserted that Golden Dome, the proposed multi-layered missile defense system for the United States, would be able to defeat “hypersonic missiles, ballistic missiles, advanced cruise missiles…even if they were launched from the other side of the world.”
Congress has already approved about $25 billion for Golden Dome construction, which is expected to cost at least $175 billion, but President Trump suggested last week that the United States “needs Greenland” for a missile shield.
“It’s extremely important to the golden dome that we’re building,” he said of the Arctic island. Posted by Truth Social.
Peter Dolan, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned that the United States currently does not have a system in place to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles like Israel’s Iron Dome.
“Greenland is critical to that strategy,” Dolan asserted.
“Most Americans have the mistaken impression that the United States is currently defending against missiles coming from Russia and other countries, just as Israel is defending against Iranian missiles,” the expert explained.
“Frankly, that’s not true. For anyone who understands the real risks, this is very disturbing.”
ICMBs launched from Russia take about 40 minutes to reach U.S. targets. According to military experts.
With an estimated range of 6,200 to 11,800 miles, Russia’s so-called “Satan II” ICMB is capable of transporting a 10-ton payload, including 10 to 15 nuclear warheads, to any location in the world at a time.
The Pentagon is reportedly considering using Fort Drum, an Army base near the Canadian border in upstate New York, as a potential site for the Golden Dome missile interceptor. According to Politico.
“Compared to Fort Drum, Greenland does not seem to be a better location for such an interceptor,” an anonymous former defense official told the outlet.
Dolan disagreed with that assessment.
“If a nuclear missile were to arrive, it would be far more advantageous to deploy interceptors in Greenland than in the mainland United States,” he said.
Dolan explained that deploying Golden Dome interceptors in Greenland would give the United States a greater cushion, or margin of error, in detecting and destroying incoming nuclear weapons.
“God forbid a US president would face such a scenario. He would rather increase the chances of interception rather than decrease them,” the expert explained. “Putting the Golden Dome in Greenland made Americans safer and increased the margin of error.”
“By deploying the Golden Dome interceptor to Greenland, future U.S. presidents will be better able to protect their homeland from nightmarish scenarios.”