<\/p>\n
The Trump administration<\/span> has threatened that if it can\u2019t buy Greenland, it may take it by military force. Top aide Stephen Miller even proclaimed<\/a> that \u201cnobody\u2019s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.\u201d But in the case of military attack, Danish troops are required to shoot first and ask questions later.<\/p>\n \u201cDanish military units have a duty to defend Danish territory if it is subjected to an armed attack, including by taking immediate defensive action if required,\u201d Tobias Roed Jensen, spokesperson for the Danish Defense Command, told The Intercept, referencing a 1952 royal decree that applies to the entire Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland.<\/p>\n Jensen said that the decree ensures that \u201cDanish forces can act to defend the Danish Kingdom in situations where Danish territory or Danish military units are attacked, even if circumstances make it impossible to await further political or military instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that Denmark\u2019s small military says it is ready to defend Greenland hasn\u2019t deterred U.S. imperial ambitions.<\/p>\n \u201cOne way or the other, we\u2019re going to have Greenland,\u201d President Donald Trump said<\/a> on Sunday. On Monday, Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., introduced legislation authorizing Trump \u201cto take whatever steps necessary to annex or acquire Greenland as a territory of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n That same day, a bipartisan House coalition, led by Reps. Bill Keating, D-Mass., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced the No Funds for NATO Invasion Act. The legislation would prohibit any federal funds from being made available for the invasion of any NATO member state or territory, and prohibit any officer or employee of the U.S. from taking action to execute an invasion of any NATO member state or territory.<\/p>\n Three sources on Capitol Hill told The Intercept that Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. \u2014 the ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations subcommittee \u2014 has resisted the addition of similar language to the pending defense appropriations bill, as to not derail negotiations with Republicans.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly, it\u2019s a massive unforced error,\u201d a congressional aide told The Intercept. \u201cBy refusing to dig in on the NATO language, Coons is giving the GOP exactly what they want without getting anything in return, and he\u2019s doing it at the expense of our most critical alliances.\u201d<\/p>\n Coons is also leading a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers on a trip to Copenhagen to meet with Danish and Greenlandic government officials this week.\u00a0His office did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen\u00a0told reporters.<\/p>\n The United States<\/span> already has a military foothold<\/a> in Greenland, the world\u2019s largest island that is not a continent. The U.S. has a long-standing military garrison, Pituffik Space Base, which was formerly known as Thule Air Base. The War Department\u2019s northernmost installation is key to U.S. missile warning, missile defense, and space surveillance missions, including sophisticated radars and satellite command and control from Pituffik Tracking Station. Last week, defense contractor InDyne Inc. was awarded a little-noticed billion-dollar contract<\/a> for missile warning, missile defense, and space domain awareness mission services at six sites, including Pituffik.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Trump repeated baseless claims<\/a> that there are \u201cRussian destroyers and submarines and China destroyers and submarines all over the place\u201d in Greenland and that\u00a0\u201cRussia or China will\u201d take over if the U.S. doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Lopsided does not begin to capture the disparity between the armed forces of the United States and Denmark. The former has around 1.3 million active-duty personnel. The latter \u2014 just 13,100. \u201cTheir defense is two dog sleds,\u201d Trump said of Greenland.<\/p>\n Danish Defense Command acknowledged that the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol is a part of the military forces. Based at Daneborg in East Greenland, it consists of about a dozen soldiers, in addition to the canines, and enforces Danish sovereignty and law enforcement authority in the world\u2019s largest national park, which covers almost the entire northeast of Greenland.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Danish Defense forces also have modest numbers of troops stationed at bases around Greenland, including Station Nord, the northernmost military base in the world in northeast Greenland, the Royal Danish Air Force Detachment Greenland in Kangerlussuaq in the west, a facility at Mestersvig in the east, a logistics hub at Gr\u00f8nnedal in the southwest, and a liaison detachment at Pituffik, in the northwest. When alerted, a Danish Arctic Response Force \u2014 including aircraft and ships \u2014 stands ready to support forces in Greenland.<\/p>\n Spokesperson Louise Hedegaard said the Arctic Command\u2019s sea capabilities include \u201cinspection vessels,\u201d while air capabilities include Bombardier Challenger maritime surveillance aircraft and Seahawk helicopters, as well as helicopters from Air Greenland. Hedegaard noted that the Arctic Command regularly deploys units from across the Danish Armed Forces and is managed by Arctic Command\u2019s staff, logistics, and stations, which comprise approximately 150 personnel.<\/p>\n Ironically, late last month the State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Denmark of maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft worth an estimated\u00a0$1.8 billion<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Danish Defense Command would not answer questions about how, specifically, troops would respond in the face of U.S. attack, or if new orders had been issued amid Trump administration threats. \u201cWe have no further comments on the subject,\u201d\u00a0Hedegaard told The Intercept.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n