Trump administration plans to move Greenland from U.S. European Command to Northern Command

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Trump administration plans to move Greenland from U.S. European Command to Northern Command

The Trump administration is planning to move Greenland from the purview of U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, several U.S. officials told CBS News. 

Moving Greenland to Northern Command, which is in charge of defending the homeland, is a symbolic statement suggesting a view of Greenland as more a part of the defense of the U.S. than of Europe. In the eyes of the U.S., the move treats Greenland more like Canada and less like a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. 

Top Trump officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have pressed Greenland to break from Denmark and come under the security umbrella of the United States, sources said. Vance visited the Pituffik Space Base in March and blasted Denmark’s management of Greenland, accusing it of underinvesting in Greenland’s people and security architecture. The space base is equipped with a warning system to detect incoming missiles, and the Pentagon sees Greenland as critical to national security. 

U.S. European Command includes Europe, Russia and Greenland. U.S. Northern Command is responsible for the defense of the continental U.S. and Alaska, in coordination with Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. 

President Trump hasn’t given up on the idea of acquiring Greenland, which he and other top officials see as key to U.S. national security. When Vance visited in March, Mr. Trump said, “We have to have Greenland.” The president has also expressed an interest in Greenland because of its rare earth minerals, which are needed in electronics like cell phones and electric cars. 

“We will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before,” Mr. Trump said in his March address to a joint session of Congress. 

But the vast majority of Greenlanders don’t want to join the U.S., according to what little polling exists. Its population of about 56,000 is concentrated along the southern coast, and most of the country is covered in ice. 

Eleanor Watson

Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon.

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