Denmark has put its military forces in Greenland on combat alert
The military personnel sent by Denmark to Greenland have been ordered to be on combat alert in case of an attack by the United States. This was reported on Friday by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR, citing an internal order from the Danish Armed Forces, writes Today.lorientlejour.
According to DR, the document, issued last week, states that soldiers in Greenland must be equipped with live ammunition. It also describes a multi-phase operation that provides for the possibility of additional deployment of forces and resources if necessary. After that, civilian and military aircraft began transporting personnel and equipment to Greenland.
Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed down from his threats to seize the island by force after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He said that a framework agreement on the Arctic island had allegedly been reached. Prior to this, Trump had not ruled out the use of force and insisted that the US needed Greenland for national security reasons.
Officially, the deployment of Danish troops is part of the Danish Arctic Endurance exercises, which, according to Copenhagen, will continue for much of next year. A few days after Trump said that the US would get Greenland "one way or another," several dozen soldiers from eight European countries arrived on the island, formally to prepare for the exercises. Some of the contingents have already left Greenland, including a group of about 15 German soldiers and some Swedes, while other units continue to arrive.
DR also reports broad political support in Denmark, both among government officials and the opposition, for the idea of resisting a US attack on the autonomous territory. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen declined to comment on this information when speaking to journalists on Friday.
Denmark, Greenland, US, Trump, Rutte
