BY CARL CHURCHILL, EMMA BROWN, AND DANIEL MICHAELS | WALL STREET JOURNAL | JANUARY 16, 2026 | ALL IMAGES PROVIDED BY WALL STREET JOURNAL
President Trump says the U.S. must own Greenland for national security. While many Americans and Europeans say the U.S. doesn’t need to acquire the Arctic island to bolster northern defenses, there is broad agreement that Greenland plays a big role in naval and missile defense for North America and across the North Atlantic.
These maps show why Greenland is so important.
On most maps, Greenland appears remote and enormous. That is partly the result of viewing the spherical Earth on a flat map…
…viewed with accurate sizes, Greenland shrinks a bit and is clearly near North America—and in the middle of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization territory.
Even so, Greenland is big. It is larger than California and Mexico, and almost four times as large as Texas.
Greenland also sits in a hugely strategic location: between the North American and European parts of NATO, between NATO and Russia, and at the eastern end of the Arctic. That is why the U.S. has repeatedly tried to buy the island for more than a century.
Greenland sits where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Arctic Ocean. Russian ships and submarines heading south from bases around the Arctic region pass through waters between Greenland, Iceland, the U.K. and Norway. All are NATO territory, so they are vital defensive points for the alliance. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has increased air and sea patrols of the waters, known as the GIUK Gap and the Bear Gap.
Greenland is also pivotal to NATO’s air defenses. Along the shortest flight path between Moscow and Washington, D.C.—an arc known as the great-circle distance—Greenland sits midway. It is NATO’s front line across much of the Arctic.
If Russia or China were to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at the U.S., many would likely cross over Greenland. That is why the U.S. has a Space Force base on the island, scanning the skies for potential attacks. The U.S. and NATO are considering adding more missile-detection equipment on Greenland and nearby.
During the Cold War, the U.S. and allies had bases across Greenland. Forces there were on the lookout for Soviet ships and subs, and stood ready to defend the island from invasion or attack. Today, the U.S. has about 150 troops, down from a peak of about 15,000.
Link to the article at the Wall Street Journal online
Last Updated on January 19, 2026 by Real KBrett