US President Donald Trump has reportedly already ordered the leaders of his special forces to chalk out a plan for a potential Greenland invasion. According to the Daily Mail, the MAGA leader’s team has been motivated by the success of the recent US attack on Venezuela and the subsequent capturing of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro to move as swiftly as possible to seize the world’s largest island.
The report comes over a day after the American leader hosted oil and gas executives at the White House, where he asserted that the US would be taking over Greenland “whether they like it or not.” His reasoning behind the drastic measure was that if America didn’t do it, China or Russia would.
Trump orders army chief to ‘draw up plan to invade Greenland’: Report
Sources told the Daily Mail that while joint chiefs of staff are opposing the plan, the likes of political advisor Stephen Miller have been spurred into action for a potential Greenland takeover after the attack on Venezuela. The report further underlined that Trump was counting on the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to “draw up” the invasion plan.
One such unidentified source told the Daily Mail that those disagreeing with the measure, claiming that the operation would be illegal, adding that such officials have tried to “distract” the US leader ” by talking about less controversial measures, such as intercepting Russian ‘ghost’ ships – a clandestine network of hundreds of vessels operated by Moscow to evade Western sanctions – or launching a strike on Iran.”
Another insider claim quoted by the international outlet suggested that the “worst-case” scenario in this picture was the “destruction of NATO from the inside” if the US acted out its desire to seize Greenland.
However, the diplomatic cable quoted by The Mail claimed that this may just as well be a deliberate move. “Some European officials suspect this is the real aim of the hardline MAGA faction around Trump. Since Congress would not allow Trump to exit Nato, occupying Greenland could force the Europeans to abandon Nato,” the report stated. “If Trump wants to end Nato, this might be the most convenient way to do it.”
Another “scenario” described as “escalatory,” eyed Trump using “political coercion” to break off Greenland’s ties with Denmark. A third “compromise scenario” listed in the report, presented an alternate possibility wherein Denmark agrees to give Trump complete military access to the world’s largest island, while denying the same to Russia and China, as per The Mail.
“For domestic political reasons, Trump can start with an escalatory scenario which shifts to a compromise scenario,” the diplomatic cable was quoted in the report. “European officials fear that, for Trump, the window of opportunity before the mid-terms is closing in the summer, therefore action is expected sooner rather than later. The Nato summit on July 7 seems like the natural timing for a compromise deal.”
On the contrary, a diplomatic source told the Mail that generals are viewing Trump’s Greenland plan as “crazy and illegal.” As a result, they are reportedly trying to turn his attention to other major military operations.
Where do Greenland, Denmark stand?
Even top officials from Trump’s team have been issuing contradictory statements over the Greenland issue. Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that utilising the US Military to acquire Greenland was also an option on Trump’s mind.
Meanwhile, State Secretary Marco Rubio had clarified otherwise, saying that Trump wanted to buy the island and not exert military force, as per the Wall Street Journal.
Greenland’s political leadership, on the other, showed a rare feat of unity in light of the current circumstances this past week.
Issuing a joint statement on Friday, the leaders across five parties in Greenland’s parliament firmly said, “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” adding “The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders.”
Similarly, Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, recently said that a US military invasion of the territory would mean the end of “NATO and therefore post second world war security.” She further called on Trump to stop issuing threats to take over the country, adding the US has “no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom [Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands].”