Daily Mail: Trump asked for a plan to invade Greenland amid opposition from the military
The British Daily Mail newspaper, citing sources, revealed that US President Donald Trump has ordered the commanders of the Special Operations Forces to draw up a plan to invade Greenland, in a move that was met with strong opposition from senior US military commanders.
Trump asked the Joint Special Operations Command to prepare an invasion plan, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed the idea, warning of its legal and political repercussions and the potential to lead to a severe crisis within NATO.
The sources reported that military commanders have tried to divert Trump’s attention toward less controversial options, such as intercepting Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to evade Western sanctions, or carrying out a military strike against Iran.
A diplomatic source told the Daily mail newspaper that the generals see the Greenland plan as illegal and won’t have congressional support, and are trying to spare the United States its consequences by offering other military alternatives.
Advisers close to Trump, led by political adviser stephen Miller, encouraged the president to move forward after what they described as the success of the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying swift action in Greenland was necessary before any possible Russian or Chinese action.
Trump is also motivated by his desire to divert American voters’ attention from the performance of the economy ahead of the midterm elections, in which Republicans could lose control of Congress.
In parallel, Britain is in talks with its European allies about the possibility of deploying a military force to Greenland, with the aim of protecting the Arctic.
British officials met with their counterparts from European countries, including Germany and France, to discuss preliminary plans that could include the deployment of soldiers, warships and aircraft, as part of deterring what London describes as a Russian and Chinese military escalation in the region.
European countries hope that strengthening their military presence in the Arctic will persuade Trump to back down from his ambition to annex Greenland, while quoting a British government source as saying that London shares Washington’s concern about increased Russian aggression in the north, but disagrees with it on how to deal with it.
Diplomatic cables suggest that European officials discussed an escalation scenario in which Trump could use force or political coercion to sever Greenland’s relationship with Denmark, and described the worst possibility as destroying NATO from within.
In return, the cables spoke of a compromise scenario in which Denmark agrees to grant the United States full military access to Greenland, while preventing any Russian or Chinese influence, and placing the already existing US presence on a clearer legal basis.
Some US military commanders are calling Trump’s plan crazy and illegal, and they are trying to treat him as if they were dealing with a five-year-old child, by keeping him away from the idea of other alternatives.
