Rare land, real power: why Trump triggered a global war strip on Greenland

President Donald Trump He has insisted that the United States needs to “obtain” Greenland “, in one way or another.” But it is not the first time that US leaders have had our eyes on the ice and extensive island.

Located in the middle of disputed waters between the United States, Russia and Western Europe, Greenland is located At a point that could protect the passage of the North Atlantic from Russian ships and submarines. It was a key military point of view during the Cold War, and President Harry Truman offered to buy Greenland from the Danes in 1946.

The island is also a transfer point for communication cables that cross the Atlantic. European officials claim that Russian “ghost ships” have been destroying such cables by dropping their anchors and dragging them through the ocean bottom.

Greater control over the island would not only offer the United States the Short ship route To Europe, but also the opportunity to strengthen its early ballistic missile alert system and place radar at the bottom of the ocean to track the movements of Russian and Chinese ships.

The United States accuses Denmark of treating Groenlanders as “second -class citizens” during Vance’s visit to the Arctic base

The island rests on lucrative supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, such as cobalt, nickel, uranium and iron, materials that are essential for electric vehicles, medical equipment, electronics, advanced batteries and defense systems.

The United States once was a main producer of rare earth minerals, but China has eliminated. Currently, China dominates the global supply chain with 60% access to the world supply, but Greenland could be a “change of play”, according to National Security lawyer Irina Tsukerman.

“Its total resources of these rare earths could be greater than China has,” he told Fox News Digital.

Vice President JD Vance, The second Lady Usha Vance, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and energy secretary Chris Wright, along with Senator Mike Lee, R-UTAH, visited Greenland on Friday.

“Our message to Denmark is very simple: the people of Greenland have not done a good job,” said the vice president on the trip.

“You underestimated in the people of Greenland, and you have not invested in the security architecture of this incredible and such beautiful dough full of incredible people. That has to change and because it has not changed, this is the reason why President Trump’s policy in Greenland is what it is.”

Trump says “We need Greenland for international security” before Vance’s trip

It is estimated that Greenland has the eighth largest reserve of rare earths in the world, Right behind the United States But their minerals have proven difficult to access: 80% of the island’s surface is covered with thick ice sheets. The island also has a lot of bureaucracy: the strict environmental and social impact requirements mean that the permission process takes time.

The economy of the nation is currently based on fishing and well -being: Denmark offers around $ 700 million each year, almost half of the Greenland budget.

The United States has hung “billions” in investment to mining minerals in Greenland as part of an effort to reduce its dependence on China, although China has already had a limited participation in mining projects there.

“China is more concerned with access to the Arctic than to those minerals,” Tsukerman said.

“China has focused its mineral efforts in Africa, where in fact it is far ahead of the United States Russia has been Centering the Arctic, “he continued.” There have been growing conversations about the increase in the presence of NATO in the area to deter Russian and Chinese vessels. “

There is also oil and gas, but in 2021 Greenlandia a prohibition of all future exploration and extraction of oil and gas.

As ice caps continue to melt, the waters around Greenland are becoming increasingly navigable, which means that ships traveling from Asia and Europe can navigate polar routes and avoid heading south to the channels of Panama and Suez.

Danish and Danish defenses on the island have become outdated, just as Russia is renewing its own Arctic ports. Greenland once organized dozens of bases and advanced US positions. Once home to around 10,000 US troops, now around 200 they deploy there now.

“We need Greenland for international security. We need it. We have to have it,” Trump said in an interview on Wednesday.

The territory is greatly opposed to the idea of ​​joining the US.

In response to Trump’s threats to take Greenland, Denmark announced an investment of $ 2 billion in defense on the island in January.

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The Denmark Defense Intelligence Service has determined that Greenland is “a priority for Russia, and will demonstrate its power through aggressive and threatening behavior, which will lead to it a greater risk of climbing than ever before in the Arctic.”

“We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years,” Danish Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulen recently admitted. “Now we are planning a stronger presence.”