Trump orders US military to draw up plan for Greenland invasion: Report

US President Donald Trump has ordered American military forces to draw up a plan for the potential takeover of Greenland, according to a report.

Britain's Daily Mail reported on Sunday that Trump ordered US special forces to devise the plan for the invasion of Greenland.

According to the report, Trump directed the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to develop an invasion plan, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed the move, arguing that it would be unlawful and lack congressional backing.

Trump, speaking at a White House event on Friday, said he needed Greenland “very badly.”

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” he said.

Trump added, “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way,” indirectly threatening to seize Greenland by force.

The US president has justified the takeover bid by pointing to Greenland’s mineral and energy resources, as well as what he describes as a possible security threat posed by the presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the island. 

Across the Atlantic, Trump's bid has drawn strong condemnation, with some European leaders saying the move could mean the end of the North Atlantic military treaty.

In the meantime, Trump and his advisors have reportedly been suggesting various ways for the US to gain control of Greenland.

Trump, according to Reuters, has suggested making a deal by paying a lump sum of $100,000 per person to Greenland residents to join the US.

However, the war-mongering  “hawks around the US President want to move quickly to seize the island before Russia or China makes a move,” the Daily Mail reported.

European leaders have rejected Trump’s offers, emphasizing their collective opposition to the move.

On Friday, leaders of Greenland’s political parties said, “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders.”

Opinion polls conducted in Greenland reportedly showed that the majority of the local population was opposed to becoming a US citizen.

Also, polling in the US showed that only 7 percent of Americans support the idea of a US military invasion of Greenland.

Trump first brought up the idea of the annexation of Greenland in 2019 during his first presidency.

During his second term in office, he repeated the issue more boldly, especially after the US military strikes on Caracas and the illegal abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.

The illegal move took place under the false pretext of the US war on drug trafficking. However, Trump himself has acknowledged that he wants to take full control of the Latin American country’s vast oil reserves.

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