The U.S. appears to be set on taking control of Greenland. Whether it does so with its wallet or its military is up in the air.
What happened: Less than a week after ousting the leader of Venezuela in a military operation, the Trump administration says it is now willing to use military force to annex Greenland, an escalation that has prompted fears about the future of NATO.
Trump’s homeland security advisor, Stephen Miller, said in an interview on Monday that “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that any move by the U.S. to take control of Greenland would mark the end of NATO.
Why it’s happening: The U.S. says it needs to take control of Greenland to ward off threats in the Arctic from Russia and China, but the island also happens to be incredibly rich in oil and critical minerals (tell us if you’ve heard this story before).
Why it matters: The U.S. government’s position is that the entire Western Hemisphere is essentially theirs. While Trump’s 51st state rhetoric has died down, this cavalier approach to the sovereignty of its allies is raising serious alarm bells here in Canada.
The president has already hinted this week that he could take military action in other countries, including Colombia and Mexico.
Our take: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that the U.S.’s primary goal is still to buy Greenland. It feels more likely than not that threats of military intervention are a ploy to get Denmark to the negotiating table… for now.—LA