US President Donald Trump has directed senior special forces commanders to begin preparing “contingency plans for a possible invasion of Greenland”, reported the Daily Mail on Sunday. The move, however, has reportedly run into resistance from top military officials who are questioning both its legality and political feasibility.
According to the report, Trump has asked the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to draft an invasion plan. However, the proposal is said to be facing pushback from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who argue that any such operation would be unlawful and lack congressional backing.“The generals think Trump’s Greenland plan is crazy and illegal. So they are trying to deflect him with other major military operations. They say it’s like dealing with a five-year-old,” a diplomatic told the Mail.“They have tried to distract Trump 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,” a source told the Mail.Sources familiar with the matter told the Mail that hardline figures within Trump’s inner circle, particularly policy “hawks” led by adviser Stephen Miller, have grown increasingly assertive after what they see as the successful operation to capture Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro. Emboldened by that outcome, they are now pushing for swift action to take control of Greenland before Russia or China is able to expand its influence in the Arctic.Trump’s interest in Greenland may also be driven by domestic political considerations. With mid-term elections approaching later this year, there is concern that the president may seek a dramatic foreign policy move to divert attention from the US economy, amid fears Republicans could lose control of Congress to Democrats,” the Mail reported, citing British diplomatic sources.Such an action would place Trump on a direct collision course with European leaders and could trigger a profound crisis within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), potentially bringing the alliance to breaking point.ALSO READ | ‘If we don’t … ‘: Donald Trump threatens to take Greenland the ‘hard way’ – why he said US needs itDiplomatic officials have also reportedly conducted internal war-gaming exercises examining what they describe as an “escalatory scenario,” in which Trump could use military force or sustained political pressure to weaken Greenland’s ties with Denmark.A classified diplomatic cable reportedly outlines a “worst-case” outcome that would result in “the destruction of Nato from the inside.”“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. If Trump wants to end Nato, this might be the most convenient way to do it,” it added. We want to be GreenlandersMeanwhile, political parties in Greenland on Saturday issued a joint statement denouncing US President Donald Trump’s pressure to seize the Danish autonomous territory.“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders,” the leaders of five parties in parliament said.“The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders,” they added.This came hours after Trump once again spoke about taking action on Greenland, saying the US would have to do “something” or risk Russia and China stepping in. He said Washington does not want Moscow or Beijing as its “neighbours”.“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 — and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour. I would like to make a deal the easy way but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said.ALSO READ | Russia, minerals or whim? Why Trump is after Greenland – and what are his options“And by the way, I’m a fan of Denmark as well. They’ve been very nice to me. I’m a big fan 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. But we need that because if you take a look at outside of Greenland right now, they are Russian destroyers, Chinese destroyers and bigger there are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland and that’s what they’re going to do if we don’t. We will do something with Greenland either the nice way or the difficult way,” he added.Denmark has also warned that its troops are under orders to “shoot first and ask question later” if Greenland comes under attack, as concerns grow in Europe over the US openly discussing possible military action against the Arctic territory.Earlier, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected Trump’s claims that the US “needs” Greenland for security reasons, calling them an “unacceptable pleasure”.
