White House Does Not Rule Out Using Military Force to Take Over Greenland

The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump along with his top aides are looking into possible options for taking control of Greenland despite US allies opposing the idea. The White House also revealed that Trump is not ruling out the use of military force to annex Greenland, following the US military operation on Venezuela.

In a statement, the White House confirmed that Trump appears determined to annex Greenland and is already exploring options as to how to do it, according to the Daily Mirror. 'The president and his team are discussing a wide range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal,' the statement reads.

Fueling the Greenland Annexation Rhetoric

The statement is the latest in the aggressive rhetoric Trump and his administration have pushed in recent days. US special forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, over the weekend.

Since the strikes in Venezuela, Trump has reignited his sights on annexing Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark. On Monday, Trump repeated his desire to annex Greenland and, on the previous day, claimed that the territory was surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.

'We need Greenland for national security and that includes Europe. You know I'm very loyal to Europe. We need it for national security right now,' Trump told NBC News Monday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers during a closed briefing on the same day that the Trump administration's goal is to buy Greenland from Denmark.

Lawmakers like Democratic Rep Jim McGovern said Trump 'has lost his damn mind,' regarding the threats to annex Greenland. McGovern warned, however, to take the threats seriously as Trump 'does dangerous things.'

European Allies Demand Respect for 'Territorial Integrity'

The rhetoric on Greenland has led countries allied with the US to issue statements opposing Trump's desire to take over the territory. In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Poland, and the UK said that only Greenland gets to decide its future. They have also cited the potential consequences for the NATO alliance should the US decide to militarily annex the territory.

'Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter including sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of borders,' the statement read. 'These are universal principles and we will not stop defending them.'

'Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.'