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World News See other World News Articles Title: Marines armed with machine guns storm the streets...and then all hell breaks loose. A minute-by-terrifying-minute accountof how America could invade Greenland., Russia's chilling threat'...and who could be next. Marines armed with machine guns storm the streets... and then all hell breaks loose. A minute-by-terrifying-minute account of how America could invade Greenland, Russia's chilling threat... and who could be next By CHRISTOPHER STEVENS PUBLISHED: 06:43 EST, 11 January 2025 | UPDATED: 06:48 EST, 11 January 2025 e-mail 22 shares 254 View comments Not a shot fired, not a snowball thrown... if President Donald Trump is genuine in his blustering threats to seize Greenland for the United States, military experts believe it could be easily and bloodlessly done. But the geopolitical earthquake will be vast – more seismic even than that set off by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ‘In military terms, it would probably not be a difficult operation,’ warned General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former deputy supreme allied commander Europe yesterday. ‘But its political implications would be massive. And the one person who’s going to be more delighted about it than anybody else is Vladimir Putin – because it could tear Nato apart.’ Until Trump’s incendiary comments this week, followed by the unexpected visit of his son Donald Jr on the family’s private jet (nicknamed Trump Force One) to the capital Nuuk, few people knew more about Greenland than can be gleaned from an Arctic wildlife documentary. It has walruses and a dwindling number of polar bears, and is dark for nearly half the year. It is a Danish territory. In 1916 the 28th US president Woodrow Wilson – also tempted by Greenland’s resources – ceded all interest in the island as a sweetener in a deal to buy the Virgin Islands from Denmark. Greenland is mostly icebound which – as we know – is melting fast. Glaciers are disintegrating, with experts warning the Arctic Ocean could soon see its first ice-free summer for the first time in recorded history. The melting ice is crucial to Trump’s urgent interest in claiming the territory – for four powerful reasons. Firstly, as the seaways become navigable, a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific opens up – the fabled Northwest Passage between Greenland and northern Canada. That route could partly replace the Panama Canal as the link between America’s east and west coasts. If it does, Trump will want to control it. Last month, the Danish government announced £1.2bn defence package for Greenland Last month, the Danish government announced £1.2bn defence package for Greenland In 2019 then-president Donald Trump declared America’s intention of purchasing the territory In 2019 then-president Donald Trump declared America’s intention of purchasing the territory When Trump first floated the idea, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said it was ‘absurd’ When Trump first floated the idea, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said it was ‘absurd’ Secondly, Greenland’s fossil fuels and rare mineral deposits are virtually untapped. These include metals crucial to the manufacture of car batteries, a fact not lost on Trump’s so-called ‘First Buddy’, the multi-billionaire owner of Tesla, Elon Musk. There exist 50 types of what are said to be ‘critical minerals’, defined as being necessary for ‘technologies that produce, transmit, store and conserve energy’. Greenland has deposits of 43 of these, according to an Economist magazine report last year. Thirdly, the far North is a stepping stone between North America and Russia. As the ice melts along the Arctic coast of Siberia, it could also become a crucial trade route for Chinese shipping. And, because of the curvature of the Earth, it lies on the shortest airway from the US to Europe – transatlantic flights from Heathrow, for example, regularly fly over Greenland. Finally, the US already has a strategically vital early-warning base at Pituffik, formerly known as Thule. Established by the Allies in 1941 to detect Nazi submarines, it is now a listening base for ballistic missiles on the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. The Pentagon is keen to develop Pituffik to track Russia’s nuclear subs. So what might seem at first to be one of Trump’s bizarre outbursts now begins to make more sense. His provocative statements from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this week were not the first time he has mooted the annexation, after all. In 2019, during his first presidency, he declared America’s intention of purchasing the territory from Denmark. ‘Essentially, it’s a large real estate deal,’ he said. The Pentagon is keen to develop Pituffik to track Russia’s nuclear subs Very, very large, in fact: Greenland is a land mass more than eight-and- a-half times bigger than the UK, at 836,000 square miles (compared to our 93,700 sq miles). Yet it is home to just 56,000 people, most of them of Inuit descent. That’s about the population of a market town such as Royal Tunbridge Wells. When Trump first floated the idea, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said it was ‘absurd’. The President responded by calling her ‘nasty’. Last month, the Danish government announced perhaps belatedly a £1.2billion defence spending package for Greenland. But, for a territory this size, the budget is barely more than a token: it will enable one of the main civilian airports to become a base for supersonic fighter jets and pay for two inspection ships, a pair of long-range drones... and two extra dog-sled teams. Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen admits: ‘We have not invested in the Arctic for many years. Now we are planning a stronger presence.’ But it may be too late. A brazen land grab could be one of the first moves Trump plans on his return to the White House, following his inauguration on January 20. Here, we imagine what might unfold – and how it could trigger an avalanche of repercussions. Poster Comment: Gobble it up. Plenty of pics at source. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
#2. To: BTP Holdings, watchman (#0)
Is Trump going to take Greenland?
America needs water, Greenland has it. And Smelt, or something.
#5. To: Dakmar (#3)
(Edited)
People go fishing for Smelt in Chicago. They set up on the breakwaters at night with a lantern. The smelt rise to the light and a net is cast to catch them. Since Smelt is a small fish, the head is cut off and they are deep fried right on the spot. ;)
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