Dystopic: Davos becomes a Greenland Summit & Iran Round 2
Published 26 days ago • 11 min read
January 29, 2026
Dystopic Newsletter
Davos becomes a Greenland Summit & Iran Round 2
Congress Center – central meeting location for the WEF (World Economic Forum) in Davos
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Davos 2026: WEF (World Economic Forum) Globalists meet Donald Trump, the Worlds Great Anti-Globalist
Last week, the week of January 19th, 2026, 3000 of the world’s most powerful political, corporate, entertainment, academic, and media figures descended on the tiny Swiss ski resort of Davos to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Nearby Samedan Airport’s runway aprons were filled to capacity with Gulfstream 4, Falcon, and Challenger private jets carrying A-list travelers heading to the conference. The Promenade, Davos' famous main thoroughfare that leads to the main meeting building at the Congress Center, was essentially impassable. Crowds milled through the numerous pavilions set up across Davos, representing countries such as the US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, as well as companies including AI defense contractor Palantir, IBM, Microsoft, and Google.
For one week, Davos is transformed into one of the greatest A-lister confabs on the planet. A pay-for-play forum for the wealthy and powerful to see, be seen, and virtue signal to the world.
The WEF is the brainchild of Klaus Schwab, a professor at the University of Geneva. In 1971, Mr. Schwab organized the first European Management Symposium in Davos, Switzerland, with the aim of fostering collaborative, multi-stakeholder dialogue between civic and business leaders on matters of global concern.
Over its 54-year history, the WEF evolved into a pro-globalist platform promoting positions across a wide swath of subjects beloved by the “global citizen” elite, including:
Stakeholder Capitalism: companies must serve not just shareholders, but all stakeholders, including employees, customers, community. Over time, stakeholder positions eventually evolving support the foundations of DEI in the mid 2010s
Trade: navigating an expanding global trade order, lowering tariffs, reducing trade barriers, and supply chain resilience
Climate Change: The WEF was a major force behind the climate change movement
Digital Transformation and cybersecurity: the rise of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s
Industry 4.0: Automation and mechanization of manufacturing starting in the mid-1990s, which has expanded to include …
AI & Robotics (2020s): the impact of artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics on jobs, society, and governance.
The “Great Reset (2020)”: WEF proposals to rebuild the global economy after the COVID-19 pandemic to be more sustainable and inclusive.
Davos 2026 would be unlike any other. Donald Trump, the world’s leading anti-globalist, having completely shattered global trade with his “Liberation Day” tariffs, would address the WEF globalist crowd to discuss Greenland and a possible second round of tariffs for countries opposed to the US position on Greenland.
Trump's presence and speech completely dominated the WEF media coverage. Well-planned messaging intended for the WEF 2026 meeting to counter President Trump's policy was suppressed to the point of being silenced.
In a way, President Trump's speech was anti- climatic. Following a brilliant military campaign that removed the Venezuelan President Maduro, Trump began a second campaign to acquire Greenland based on US security needs and access to critical mineral resources. The media had been hyping a narrative that the US would invade Greenland, effectively ending NATO, and targeted tariffs would kick off a new trade war. Let's face it Trump fanned the media's flames with his rhetoric ... but I digress.
Trump silenced his critics in his Davos address by making two major points:
The US would not use military force to achieve its goals with respect to Greenland
There would be no punitive tariffs
You can find a transcript of President Trump’s address from the official WEF website, HERE
The Davos speech ended the media narrative of invasion and NATO chaos, but it did not soothe the raw nerves of our allies after weeks of President Trump’s bombastic rhetoric. The Administration achieved a deal framework for Greenland security and resource access that it wanted, but at a cost of alienating our Allies. Using the “Art of the Deal” tactics, which start with outrageous demands and positioning and end at some middle point, may be good for business, but it is a terrible way to conduct foreign policy with our allies.
President Trump correctly understands what is at stake if the US does not move quickly to shore up Arctic security. He is motivated and animated by our allies' lax attitude about Arctic security.
Since this is Dystopic, let’s look a bit deeper at the issues surrounding Greenland.
Greenland - Why All the Fuss?
The Northern Sea Route - The future of U.S., European, and Northern Asia Shipping – Reducing Shipping costs and distance by nearly 50%
On January 18th 2025, I posted a Dystopic Newsletter about Greenland and the new fixation on it by President Trump, a strategically located, nearly uninhabited island.
You can find the entire Dystopic newsletter HERE
Here is a brief synopsis:
Greenland and Northern Canada have become a focus of U.S. strategic and economic concern for three reasons: Energy, Mineral Resources, and a New Global Shipping Route. Let's review a few specifics:
Energy: A 2008 report released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the Arctic holds around 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 44 billion barrels of liquid natural gas, and 90 billion barrels of oil—the vast majority of these being offshore. There will be contention for those resources. The Trump Administration intends to use energy as a weapon. Increasing energy supplies will lower energy costs and boost North America's and our allies' economies. Lower energy prices will strangle Iran and Russia's energy export-dependent economies. The exercise of soft power economic deterrence at its finest.
Mineral Resources: Much publicized. Minerals, particularly rare-earth elements, will become accessible as temperatures rise, and Greenland and Northern Canada can be accessed and mined. The West needs to break China's stranglehold of rare earth elements. Developing new and rebuilding old mines across the U.S., Canada, and Greenland will end China's dominance.
New Shipping Route: Global warming is opening both the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the Northwest Passage across the Arctic Ocean. The NSR runs from the Barents Sea, near Russia's border with Norway, to the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska (shown in red on the diagram). The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (shown in green on the diagram).
Sea Routes through the Arctic Ocean (Arctic Portal.org)
Shipping from Europe to the Western Pacific runs through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and past Malacca to reach eastern Asia—a journey of 13,00 miles and 48 days. Using either of the two Arctic shipping routes cuts the distance to 8,00 miles, reducing transit time by 10 to 15 days. Analysts predict that 15% of all Chinese trade will be through the Northern Sea Route when it opens. In short, the new Arctic sea lanes will drastically cut shipping costs and transit times by more than 50%.
Greenland is a big deal – hence all the "noise and rhetoric" from President Trump. Now that you have the facts, it is obvious that the rhetoric extends beyond just resources in Greenland.
The US/Allied Security, Greenland as a Lynchpin
If something is valuable, it requires protection, which raises questions about defense, security, and shared responsibility. Other than the surveillance systems against nuclear attack (i.e., Cobra Dane Radar at Pituffik Space Force Base, etc.), the Arctic Ocean has needed few military resources as a form of deterrence.
By 2050, the Arctic will be open year-round to commercial shipping if global warming continues. It will also make an ideal location for Chinese and Russian ballistic missile submarines to launch an attack on the US or Europe. An attack on the US and Canada by Russians and the Chinese land-based ballistic missiles provides roughly a 25- to 30-minute warning window. However, if Russia and China base their ballistic missile submarines in the Arctic, the warning window decreases to 10 to 15 minutes before crimpling strikes hit major cities across North America.
Greenland anchors the northern boundary of the Greenland-Iceland–United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap, a critical maritime chokepoint between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
With control of both Alaska and Greenland, in times of emergency, the US and our Allies can deter Russian and Chinese maritime activity, denying access to both the Eastern and Western Arctic Ocean points of entry and egress.
As it stands, Canada and Greenland depend on U.S. submarine and other military forces to patrol and deter Russia, which currently claims over 40% of the Arctic as its territory. The U.S. is overextended at this point. Only France and the UK have submarines capable of taking up the slack. Unfortunately, both the UK and France are overextended as well. French and British submarines complement NATO naval forces, keeping tabs on the Russian fleets in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The U.S. and UK Submarines patrol the so-called GIUK gap (Greenland - Iceland - UK gap), which patrols all the possible exits of the Russian Northern fleet into the Atlantic.
It's neither madness nor whim that the Trump administration, for a second time, is pressuring Denmark over Greenland and threatening tariffs against Canada and other European countries. Canada and Denmark have contributed less than 1.4% of their GDP, 0.6% below the 2% minimum NATO requirement. Canada and Denmark are among thet lowest contributors to the common defense. By treaty, the defense of these regions falls on the US. Canada and Denmark are taking extreme advantage of the U.S. taxpayers and, frankly, the UK taxpayers. Military, economic, and territorial access will require major changes to meet the growing threat
While Denmark and Canada have pledged to increase defense spending to 3.5%, these increases will happen in the future; the security issue exists today. Both countries suffer from sustained underinvestment at the U.S.'s expense. Denmark's lack of urgency, in particular, animates the Trump Administration's Second round of tariffs and territorial rhetoric. The tariffs are off the books for now, but the security situation must be addressed sooner rather than later.
… That is what all the “FUSS” is about!
A US Navy Armada Arrives in the Gulf to Punish Iran
Detailed View of A U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group
Gulf News reports that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, the US military said on Monday, significantly boosting American firepower in the region.
The War Zone reports that several squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagles, accompanied by KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets, headed east from RAF Lakenheath in England to the Middle East. F-15s played a significant role in countering Iran's missile and drone strikes during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Men stand amid rows of corpses in a morgue in Tehran following mass killings of protestors by security forces (Iran International)
It appears that Iran’s crackdown on protests has been far more brutal than the first reports. Instead of a few thousand killed, estimates now range in 10s of thousands, with over 36,000 deaths reported by Iran International.
At this point, the trump administration appears ready to use force for a second time to achieve its objectives with respect to Irans which can be summarized as:
Punishment of Iran’s Leadership for the atrocities committed against the protesters
Force Iran to finally dismantle its nuclear enrichment and weapons program – attacking remaining nuclear program sites if necessary – Iran has failed to negotiate following US strikes on Iran’s facilities
Force Iran to dismantle its ballistic missile program, possibly targeting ballistic missile facilities – This is the second security issue Iran has stonewalled US and Israeli negotiators
All of the above (which is more than likely)
President Trump has shown little patience with Iran. After an initial failure to negotiate the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, the President ordered Operation Midnight Hammer with devastating results. The US actions against Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro provide a second example of Trump's limited patience with respect to regimes hostile to the US.
Given the scale of atrocities committed by Iran’s leadership against its citizens that is now coming to light, a leadership decapitation strike is not out of the question.
The Atlantic Council has summarized various US strike options. You can read more HERE
What will happen next? We will find out soon enough.
What is clear is that the US is flexing its military muscle on a larger scale and frequency than at any time since the two Gulf Wars.
In Other News
China: Xi Jinping has executed a second round of “anti-corruption” purges in the Chinese military. At this point, the Chinese military has no senior leadership with combat experience in place. This calls into question China’s ability to be in a position to invade Taiwan in 2027. There are many opinions surrounding the motives behind President Xi's move. You can read more on the subject on the BBC and Sky News.
In the Dystopic 2026 Predictions newsletter, I cautioned that China gain the strategic initiative, taking the the US, and our Western Pacific Allies by surprise, launching an invasion or blockade in 2026 rather than the stated readiness date of 2027. Here is an interesting counterfactual: Perhaps President Xi dismissed his generals for being too cautious and for opposing a surprise move, and corruption is just an excuse, a cover, for his actual intent.
With two carrier task groups tied up in the Western Caribbean and in the Gulf of Oman/Arabian Sea, Western Pacific Naval forces, US Pacific forces will never be weaker, and transit times for reinforcement of a Taiwan action would never be longer
Russia: The Ukraine -Russia war bloodbath grinds on – nearly a year of negotiations has led nowhere? Congress has prepared the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which aims to penalize Russian financial institutions, military, oligarchs, and disrupt Russia’s economy. It's time for President Trump to sign that bill!
On a positive note, the US and our Allies are cracking down on the shadow fleet of oil tankers that allow Russia to avoid current sanctions. While that is a positive step, the bill is still needed.
Cuba: Disrupting all support from Venezuela and other nations states (i.e., Russia and China), the US is pushing Cuba over an economic cliff. Look for Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban refugees, to be the and administrations point man on putting an end to the Cuban communist regime.
Venezuela: While not front and center in the news, the CIA, State Department, and the US military continue a pressure campaign to force Venezuelan leadership to conform to US demands … or else. Is a free and fair election in the future? Alternately, is it better to have reformed strongmen rule the country? Stay tuned to what happens next.
A final thought … Trump has “won a great many battles, but he has not won any wars” … Final solutions do not exist on any front, the West Bank, Iran Nuclear and Ballistic Missile, Venezuela, Ukraine-Russia Peace, or Taiwan. The second year of the Trump administration needs to “win a few of the wars.” If not thte US is sitting on a powder keg waiting to blow, to use the analogy
That’s a wrap for this week …
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How The Hell Did We Get Here - The Book
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How The Hell Did We Get Here? A Citizen's Guide to The New Cold War and Rebuilding of Deterrence
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