Denmark To Question US Diplomat Over US Spying in Greenland

Denmark plans to summon the top US diplomat in the country for clarification following a Wall Street Journal report that the United States is intensifying intelligence-collecting on Greenland, the Associated Press reported.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, senior officials under the US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, instructed intelligence agency heads to study Greenland’s independence movement and views on Washington’s efforts to extract resources from the mineral-rich Arctic island – which US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring for the United States. 

The agencies were instructed to use surveillance satellites, communications intercepts, and spies on the ground to identify the people in Greenland and Denmark who support the US goals for the island.  

Despite Trump’s many claims about wanting to annex Greenland, this is one of the first concrete steps toward that goal. 

Gabbard has not denied the report, according to the BBC. However, she accused the Journal of “aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the president by politicizing and leaking classified information.” 

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the Journal report “very worrying,” and said Danish officials are taking its allegations very seriously. Denmark, a US ally and NATO member, is planning to spend $1.5 billion on Greenland’s protection, the Guardian noted. 

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has previously said the US comments about the island have been disrespectful and that Greenland can’t be bought, dismissing Washington’s claim that annexing the semi-autonomous state is a matter of international security. 

Polls show that a majority of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, which controls its foreign and defense policies, but also that they don’t want to be annexed by the US.