Military action ‘always an option’ to takeover Greenland: White House

US officials have floated purchasing the semi-autonomous territory as another course of action  

News Desk - The Cradle 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on 6 January that the use of the US military was “always an option” as US President Donald Trump and his advisors reviewed different options for the annexation of Greenland.

Leavitt said Trump views acquiring Greenland as a “national security priority,” citing the need to deter adversaries in the Arctic, and confirmed that “a range of options” is under discussion, including the use of military force.

The remarks revived Trump’s long-standing push to bring the semi-autonomous Danish territory under US control and immediately triggered a unified diplomatic backlash across Europe.

Later the same day, leaders of France, Germany, Britain, and other European states issued a joint statement with Denmark, stressing that “Greenland belongs to its people” and insisting that only Denmark and Greenland can decide the island’s future.

They also underlined that Arctic security is a core concern for NATO, warning that US threats against a fellow alliance member would undermine the bloc’s foundations.

Greenland’s government said it requested an “urgent” meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address what it called Washington’s “claims about our country,” with Danish and Greenlandic officials seeking to rebut assertions about Chinese and Russian activity in the region.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen rejected Trump’s depiction of heavy Chinese investment or military presence, saying, “We do not share this image that Greenland is plastered with Chinese investments.”

Denmark’s defense minister added that Copenhagen has already spent billions to bolster security on the island, countering Trump’s suggestion that Denmark had done little.

Inside Washington, officials offered mixed signals, with Rubio telling lawmakers in a private briefing that the administration would prefer to buy Greenland rather than invade it, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), while congressional Republicans downplayed the likelihood of force.

Democrat senator Ruben Gallego conversely warned that Trump “wouldn’t think twice about putting our troops in danger,” introducing legislation to block funding for any military action against Greenland.

By Wednesday, France said it was coordinating with partners on a response plan should Washington act. 

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin called any US attack a “red line for Europe,” warning it would amount to NATO’s strongest power striking another member, and adding that “Europe should under no circumstances accept any harm to European sovereignty.”

A joint statement by Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK on Tuesday reaffirmed Arctic security as a European priority, expressed solidarity with Copenhagen, and warned that any US military move against Greenland would amount to an attack on a NATO member, even as Washington was still described as an “essential partner.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen dismissed the annexation talk as “fantasies,” urging calm and insisting the island’s future must be decided through lawful channels.