The United States has ordered its intelligence agencies to step up their intelligence gathering on Greenland, a move that comes as Donald Trumpʼs administration seeks to gain control over the island.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources.
Several senior officials reporting to the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a “priority intelligence gathering notice” to intelligence agency leaders last week, instructing them to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and the islanders’ attitudes toward resource extraction by US companies.
The classified message ordered agencies — including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Military Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency — to use satellites, communications interception devices, and on-the-ground spies to find people in Greenland and Denmark who supported American interests on the island.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on intelligence matters and referred to an earlier comment from National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt, who said Trump has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.
In late March, during an interview with NBC News, Trump was asked whether he would rule out using force against the territory.
“I don’t rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything. No, not there. We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of, and we’ll cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security,” Trump said.
