WASHINGTON — America’s intelligence leaders were directed last week to focus on learning more about Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes toward a greater US presence to support President Trump’s bid to convince residents of the world’s largest island to join the United States.
The classified “collection emphasis” instructions, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, ordered agency chiefs to use spies and electronic tools to identify Greenlandic and Danish supporters of Trump’s goals, and to learn more about Greenland’s secession movement and attitudes toward US resource extraction.
Trump, 78, has openly urged Greenlanders to end centuries of association with Denmark and join the US, but the new revelation threatens to undermine the effort by inflaming local sentiment.
Since Trump’s first term, his advisers have considered it likely that the island’s roughly 57,000 residents, most of whom are Inuit, would vote for independence and then choose to enter into a compact of free association with the US, in which Washington would provide defense and other benefits.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard implicitly confirmed the WSJ report in a statement Wednesday — and vowed to catch the leakers responsible.
“The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information,” Gabbard said.
“They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I have referred three illegal leaks to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution, and we are investigating nearly a dozen more.”
Trump argues that Greenland is necessary for US and global security — citing the fact that it abuts important North Atlantic shipping lanes and is home to an American military installation that tracks potential Russian missile launches, and noting its bounty of rare earth elements.
Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland in late March and slammed Denmark for under-investing in its longtime fief.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people.”
The sales pitch has divided opinion within Greenland — with some islanders enthusiastically supporting Trump’s idea and others marching around the capital, Nuuk, in protest of Vance’s visit with a banner saying, “Yankee Go Home.”
