The Pentagon is redrawing its military combatant command responsible for defending the U.S. homeland to include Greenland as the Trump administration signals it wants control of the Danish territory.
President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to move Greenland into the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility in a shakeup that comes as the president looks to acquire the Danish territory and the U.S. seeks greater control over Arctic regions.
On Tuesday, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the president recently ordered the change to the Unified Command Plan. The Unified Command Plan is a strategic document that establishes the missions, responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility for commanders of combatant commands. (Mountain Media)
The move comes as President Donald Trump has long mused about taking control of the island, which he has argued is critical to U.S. national security and protecting its Arctic interests. Trump ordered the change under a biennial review of the Unified Command Plan, which organizes the responsibilities for each of the Pentagon’s geographic combatant commands, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. (The Stars and Stripes)
Per Politico: “The switch is the most concrete step yet in the Trump administration’s months-long effort to gain ownership over Greenland, an autonomous island aligned with Denmark. Trump briefly brought up buying Greenland during his first term, but has talked about it repeatedly since winning the election last November, alarming the island’s 58,000 inhabitants and frustrating the Danish government, which says it has no interest in selling.”
