Trump wants Greenland at any cost
If buying Greenland does not work, the military option is still on the table
US President Donald Trump insisted on Friday that his administration needed to take effective control of Greenland because otherwise Moscow or Beijing would do it. By hook or by crook, Washington needs to prevent it from falling under the influence of Russia or China, Trump explained to reporters at the White House.
The Republican leader framed the acquisition as a non-negotiable national security imperative and rejected the current diplomatic arrangement, which allows the US to operate the Pituffik Space Base under a long-standing agreement with Denmark. He argued that leases are not enough to guarantee American security in the face of increasing Russian and Chinese presence in the region.
We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, Trump stressed. I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if not, we are going to do it the hard way.
If you take a look at outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, Chinese destroyers… There are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland, he added while questioning Denmark’s historical control over the autonomous territory, suggesting that modern strategic needs supersede colonial-era claims.
I’m a fan of Denmark… but the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land. We had lots of boats go there also, he further argued. Countries have to have ownership. And you defend ownership, you don’t defend leases.
Despite his aggressive rhetoric, Trump insisted his stance was not anti-NATO. I saved NATO. If it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t have NATO right now.
While the White House has proposed a diplomatic purchase for between US$12.5 and US$90 billion, military options remain on the table.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that a US attack on a NATO ally would be the end of everything post-WWII. Danish troops are reportedly under standing orders to shoot first and ask questions later if sovereign territory is invaded.
