Tag: greenland

Denmark Summons US Ambassador Over Alleged ‘Covert Influence Operations’ in Greenland, as Copenhagen Apologizes for Decades of Forced Sterilization of Inuit Greenlander Women

Operation Greenland seems to be ‘on’.

These last days, the US territorial ambitions regarding the island of Greenland have resurfaced in the headlines, as the consequences of the brutal treatment by Denmark of the indigenous Inuit populations are also propelled back to the news.

Today (27), the main Danish national broadcaster reported that ‘at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump’ have been carrying out what they called ‘covert influence operations’ in Greenland.

This led Copenhagen to summon the U.S. ambassador to the country for talks.

Associated Press reported:

“Public broadcaster DR said Danish government and security sources which it didn’t name, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the U.S., believe that at least three American nationals with connections to Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in the territory.

One of those people allegedly compiled a list of U.S.-friendly Greenlanders, collected names of people opposed to Trump and got locals to point out cases that could be used to cast Denmark in a bad light in American media. Two others have tried to nurture contacts with politicians, businesspeople and locals, according to the report.”

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Trump Administration Plans to Finance $120 Million Rare Earths Mining Project in Greenland

The last time I wrote about Greenland, the nation had elected independent-minded leaders to the top spots in its political system.

This was then followed by Vice President Vance’s trip with his wife to the Pituffik Space Base on the Arctic island to support the trips.

During an address during the visit, Vance unleashed some hard-hitting statements directed at our ally Denmark. Essentially, Vance took a diplomatic sledgehammer to Denmark’s treatment of Greenland, suggesting that Copenhagen has treated the island more like a neglected outpost than a strategic priority.

Vance did not sugar-coat his opinion of the obliviousness Denmark has had to the threats Russia and China pose in this region.

Given the recent spate of international conflicts (India vs Pakistan, Israel pummeling Iran), Greenland seems to have dropped out of the news. However, it has not been completely forgotten about by President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration is considering financing a $120 million rare earths mining project in the Arctic island nation through a loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to Critical Metals Corp, in what would be the administration’s first overseas investment in a mining venture. The project, known as the Tanbreez rare earths mine, is aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China, which currently dominates the global rare earths market.

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Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.

Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief.

In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., asked whether the Pentagon has developed plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary.

“Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any contingency,” Hegseth said several times.

It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later.

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Denmark’s Parliament Approves Legislation Authorizing US Military Bases on Danish Soil, as Trump Eyes Greenland Annexation

The Danish have caved and will allow US bases in their territory.

When US President Donald J. Trump expressed his desire to gain control of the island of Greenland, it took most by surprise, and generated a panic in the kingdom of Denmark.

While the former colony and present semi-autonomous territory has belonged to the Danish for centuries, the geopolitical situation may cause a historical shift.

Greenland is located between North America and Europe, making it vital for monitoring Russian military activities, particularly ballistic missile threats and naval movements through the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) gap.

The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland for missile defense and space surveillance under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark.

It provides access to the Arctic Ocean and emerging shipping routes, made accessible by melting ice, with a vital role in tracking Russian and Chinese naval activities.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” — Donald Trump, statement on Truth Social, December 2024.

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US shifting Greenland military oversight in ownership push

The Pentagon plans to move its oversight of Greenland from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, a switch that would bring the Denmark-aligned island closer to alignment with the United States.

The change, first reported by Politico, comes as President Trump has repeatedly expressed an interest in taking control of the autonomous territory, where the U.S. military houses a base. Trump on the campaign trail and after taking office has said the U.S. taking control Greenland is a national security issue.

Shifting the responsibility for U.S. security interests in Greenland to Northcom, the military command that oversees America’s homeland defense, would largely be symbolic but underscores Trump’s focus on the territory.

The move could come as soon as this week, a Defense Department official and two people familiar with the planning told Politico. 

The Pentagon did not return a request for comment from The Hill.

Reports first emerged last month that the Trump administration was mulling the move as Greenland is part of the North American continent, even as it is associated with Europe politically and culturally given it is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. 

Trump in his first term floated the notion of buying Greenland, but in his second term has doubled down on the idea. He has declined to rule out using military force in taking the island.

“I don’t rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything,” Trump said in a May 4 interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We need Greenland very badly,” he added. “Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of and we’ll cherish them and all of that. But we need that for international security.”

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The Nuclear Missile Launch Sites Buried Under Greenland’s Ice Revealed

Camp Century, part of a secret Pentagon plan called Project Iceworm, was designed in the late 1950s as a hidden network of nuclear missile launch sites beneath Greenland’s ice. Built in 1959 and abandoned by 1967 due to unstable ice, the facility was meant to store 600 medium-range ballistic missiles.

Today, it lies buried under at least 100 feet of ice, according to the Wall Street Journal, who wrote a lengthy piece on the sites this week.

Although presented as a research station, its real military purpose remained classified until 1996. Nina Erofeeva explained: “The first [licenses] have been received for the creation of oil storage facilities, in the Krasnoyarsk territory. This was also an unusual case. Russia has never had oil storage facilities. Oil has always been pumped through pipelines. Given recent events and the lack of infrastructure in the Arctic zone, oil storage facilities are needed in several regions. Accordingly, oil will be placed in these oil storage facilities so as not to burn it during pilot development.”

With 21 tunnels stretching nearly two miles under the ice, the base housed around 200 personnel and operated on nuclear power. Robert Weiss, a physician stationed there in the early 1960s, recalled: “We did realize that it was important; that the Russians could come over the top of the Pole.”

Life at Camp Century was harsh but bearable. “When I got there, it was blowing snow and minus 50 degrees,” Weiss said, remembering how he spent weeks underground. “It wasn’t very hard living from that standpoint.” Joking about the isolation, he added: “We used to say that there was a pretty girl behind every tree. Of course, there was one problem: There were no trees.”

The Journal writes that the base’s full scale wasn’t revealed until April last year, when NASA’s cryospheric scientist, Greene, captured the first complete images using advanced ice-penetrating radar. “You see how the buildings and tunnels were connected, how people had to move about in their day-to-day life, and think what a wild experience it must have been to be stationed there,” Greene said.

The U.S. presence in Greenland has long been controversial. During the Cold War, the U.S. operated 17 bases there and stationed about 10,000 troops. Today, fewer than 200 remain at Pituffik Space Base.

Tensions rose again when President Trump openly criticized Denmark for not securing Greenland and even suggested taking the island by force for U.S. security. Denmark reminded Washington of the 1951 treaty that already allows U.S. bases there but firmly rejected any takeover.

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US Moves on Greenland? Danish PM Complains Greenland Is Reportedly Being Spied On, While Pentagon May Shift Artic Island To Same Military Command Overseeing Homeland Security

A couple of seemingly unrelated reports may be signaling an intensifying move from the US towards the Danish Arctic territory of Greenland, sending Euro-Globalists into a panic.

To begin with, Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, came out today (9) to complain that ‘you cannot spy against an ally’ after the WSJ reported that the US has ‘stepped up intelligence gathering on Greenland’.

Associated Press reported:

“Frederiksen’s comments Friday are the latest in the spat between Denmark, Greenland and the United States because Trump seeks to annex the strategic Arctic island. Denmark and Greenland insist that the mineral-rich island is not for sale, while Trump has not ruled out taking it by military force even though Denmark is a NATO ally.”

Yesterday (8), Frederiksen summoned the top American diplomat in the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, demanding an explanation following the Wall Street Journal report.

Intelligence agency heads are investigating Greenland’s independence movement, as well as the local sentiment about U.S. resource extraction.

“’Cooperation about defense and deterrence and security in the northern part of Europe is getting more and more important’, Frederiksen said. ‘Of course, you cannot spy against an ally.’

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in comments to Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq, said the reports of espionage are unacceptable and disrespectful.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Friday there is ‘no question’ that the pressure Denmark and Greenland are under ‘doesn’t feel right’.”

Tulsi Gabbard’s office warned that she had already made three ‘criminal referrals’ to the Justice Department over intelligence community leaks.

“’The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information’, Gabbard wrote. ‘They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law’.”

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US Intel Agencies Ordered To Target Greenland As Takeover Plotting Intensifies

In the latest indicator of President Trump’s determination to close America’s biggest-ever land acquisition by whatever means necessary, US intelligence agencies have been directed to step up their efforts to gather information about Greenland, Denmark and their internal political dynamics, according to two people “familiar with the effort” who leaked the news to The Wall Street Journal.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard lashed out at the leaks: “The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information. They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.” Opting against similar fire-breathing, National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt was restrained: “The president has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic,” he told the Journal.

According to the Journal’s sources, the directive came last week by way of a “collection emphasis message,” sent by several senior intelligence officials to subordinate agency leaders. As its name implies, this type of message shapes the priorities with which assets are assigned to various intelligence missions. The agencies are now tasked with:

  • Gathering information about Greenland’s independence movement
  • Assessing Greenlanders’ sentiments about US extraction of its wealth of resources
  • Identifying backers of a US takeover of the island — in both Greenland and Denmark 

It’s not clear which of the intel community’s many tools — which include spy satellites, drones, communications surveillance and covert operatives — will be used to harvest information about political movements and individuals in Greenland and Denmark. 

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Space Force Col. Susan Meyers Relieved Of Command After Criticizing Vance Greenland Visit – Should Be Courtmartialed

The senior Space Force officer Col Susan Meyers, who was relieved of command after the Vice President’s visit to Greenland, committed severe insubordination of the Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, and should be courtmartialed in our opinion.

Until we start making examples of these seditious individuals, with real consequences, this will keep happening.

Col. Susan Meyers, the commander of the 821st Space Base Group who also oversees the Pentagon’s northernmost military base, sent a March 31 message to all personnel at Pituffik seemingly aimed at generating unity among the airmen and Guardians, as well as the Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders who work there, following Vance’s appearance. She wrote that she “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you,” reported Military.com

“I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base,” Meyers wrote in the email, which was communicated to Military.com.

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Greenland “Absolutely Critical” For Hunting Russian Submarines: Top U.S. General In Europe

As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to seek control of Greenland, the top U.S. military commander in Europe said the massive island is vital to America’s national security. The main issue, he said, is that Greenland’s geographic location makes it a key landmass from which to track Russian submarines before they have a chance to disappear into the Atlantic Ocean and potentially endanger the East Coast. You can read more about the strategic importance of Greenland in our deep dive here.

“Access to the airspace and water space found in Greenland is absolutely critical for the United States,” said U.S. Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and head of U.S. European Command. Cavoli addressed the security value of Greenland during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Asked about the frigid island, Cavoli made it clear he was talking about the military value of it and not the Trump administration’s policy of trying to assume Greenland from Denmark.

“The key there is it forms the western border of the Greenland, Iceland, UK (GIUK) gap, which is that body of water through which Russian submarines from the Northern Fleet in Murmansk come up and then down through that gap,” Cavoli stated. Murmansk is home to some of Russia’s most capable submarines, like the Yasen-M class nuclear-powered cruise missile carrying Kazan.

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