Trump threats of force against Greenland is a deal-making ploy | US | News
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the administration’s latest threats to Greenland do not indicate an imminent invasion and that the goal is to buy the island from Denmark, according to people familiar with the discussions. Rubio’s comments during a closed briefing on Monday come as the White House is making increasingly aggressive statements about control of the island, the Wall Street Journal reported.
President Trump and senior administration officials have publicly refused to rule out the possibility of seizing the territory by force. “President Trump has made the well-known case that seizing Greenland is a national security priority of the United States and is vital to deterring our adversaries in the Arctic. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy objective, and of course using the U.S. military is always an option available to the commander in chief,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump’s insistence on making Greenland part of the USA is increasing
Trump discussed buying Greenland during his first term, but has become more insistent on making the region part of the U.S. NATO members have said an American attack on Greenland, a self-governing island that is part of Denmark, would mean the effective end of the decades-long political-military alliance.
The report notes that Rubio’s comments came during a briefing by senior administration officials for congressional leadership about the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the administration’s plans for the country’s future. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) asked whether the Trump administration plans to use military force elsewhere, including Mexico and Greenland.
Trump administration signals desire to persuade Denmark to surrender Greenland
It’s unclear whether Rubio is trying to assuage lawmakers’ concerns, but the Trump administration has long signaled that it is trying to persuade Denmark to cede control of Greenland, the world’s largest island. US and European officials say they have seen no signs that the White House is preparing a military invasion of Greenland.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), a staunch Trump ally in Congress, said what the administration is doing on Greenland is “all about negotiations.” He added: “We need legal control and legal protection to justify building this place and putting our people on the field.”
Concerns are growing about Trump’s openness to using force
Some U.S. lawmakers and European officials worry that the recent U.S. military operation to oust Maduro, as well as U.S. strikes in Nigeria and Iran, show that Trump is more open to using force than at any time in his two presidencies.
During the briefing, Rubio downplayed the idea that the United States could seize Greenland by force. But Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s closest aides, did not rule out invading the island in a television interview on Monday. Trump has insisted that the United States must control Greenland to better defend the Arctic against Russia and China, and has publicly mentioned that the U.S. government and American companies have greater access to the island’s critical minerals.
Denmark responds to offers of increased US presence and mining rights
The Danish government responded by repeatedly suggesting that the United States could deploy more troops to Greenland and obtain new and improved mining rights. To address Trump’s security concerns in the Arctic, Denmark has invested in the island’s security infrastructure and announced plans to spend billions of dollars on new weapons such as ships and aircraft. But Trump decried the moves on Sunday as Copenhagen effectively bought “another dog sled.”
Fears of aggressive American action spread across Europe as six of the continent’s leaders joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in an unusual joint statement on Tuesday urging the United States to work “collectively” with its allies to address security concerns in the Arctic.
Frederiksen was much more outspoken and direct on Monday, telling local broadcaster DR that if the US attacked a NATO country to seize Greenland “it would be over”. “The international community as we know it, the democratic rules of the game, NATO, the world’s strongest defense alliance – all of these would collapse if one NATO country chose to attack another.”
