To Seize or Not to Seize Greenland |
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. threats toward Greenland, the U.S. seizure of two sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan crude, and China’s new dual-use export ban on Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that the White House seeks to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Denmark known for its vast critical minerals and strategic Arctic location. Just how the United States plans to do this, though, remains unclear—even among senior U.S. officials.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. threats toward Greenland, the U.S. seizure of two sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan crude, and China’s new dual-use export ban on Japan.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that the White House seeks to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Denmark known for its vast critical minerals and strategic Arctic location. Just how the United States plans to do this, though, remains unclear—even among senior U.S. officials.
In recent days, Trump has doubled down on his imperial ambitions, calling U.S. ownership of the Danish territory a matter of “national security.” This is despite Copenhagen being a member of NATO, and despite the United States having legally recognized Danish sovereignty over Greenland since 1916 in exchange for Denmark selling the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) to the United States.
Trump has previously refused to rule out the use of military force or economic coercion to accomplish his agenda. However, when Trump’s staff has been asked about the United States’ specific plan for the island, the messaging has been mixed. During a closed briefing with lawmakers on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said that the White House aims to buy Greenland—downplaying military action amid warnings from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that such an operation would endanger NATO’s very existence.
However, that same day,........