Why Trump Wants Greenland & What Is Standing In His Way? Military Option Like Venezuela Considered? (pics)

As President Donald Trump renews his push to acquire the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, the White House has described using military force as an option, a stunning threat against a NATO ally that would undermine the decades-old defense pact.

The remarks by Trump and his top aides have sent alarm across European capitals, prompting some of their most forceful responses to date and a warning by Denmark that military intervention would effectively end the NATO alliance. It comes days after the United States used its military to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing on Monday that the escalation in rhetoric was part of a wider strategy to ramp up pressure on Denmark to sell the territory, one official familiar with the briefing said.

Here’s what to know.

Why is Greenland so appealing for Trump?

Trump covets rare earth riches, but Greenland plans to mine its own business

The island has deposits of diamonds, graphite, lithium, copper, nickel and gallium. It also has oil and rare earth minerals, such as neodymium and dysprosium, of which China and Russia are the top global producers, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Rare earth minerals can be used in smartphones, powerful magnets and defense technologies.

The island, which is technically part of the North American continent, is strategically situated along the GIUK Gap, named for the initials of Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. Over the weekend, Trump complained that the island was “covered” in Russian and Chinese ships. In response, European officials said that while Moscow and Beijing have increased their activity in the region, most of that is elsewhere in the Arctic, with no current spike in activity near Greenland.

The United States already has a military base on the island, Pituffik Space Base, which was erected in the early years of the Cold War in a strategic location for missile defense and space surveillance missions, according to the U.S. Space Force.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday that acquiring Greenland is a “national security priority” of the United States that would serve as a vital deterrence to Washington’s adversaries in the Arctic region. “Of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” she said.

While Rubio has told lawmakers the recent rhetoric is a move to pressure Denmark into selling Greenland, Marion Messmer, director of the International Security Program at London-based think tank Chatham House, said it was still “extremely concerning” that military action had been “threatened and not ruled out” by White House officials. European leaders had no choice but to take Trump’s preoccupation with Greenland seriously, as “the stakes are too high” to ignore, she said.

How has Denmark responded?

Greenland has been part of Denmark for over 300 years, initially as a colony and then from 1953 as an autonomous territory. In 2009, the island approved the Self-Government Act, allowing for greater home rule — but responsibility for its defense and foreign policy remains with Denmark.

Trump’s aspirations to purchase Greenland strained relations with Denmark during his first term. When Trump returned to office last year and the issue arose again, Danish officials reiterated that Greenland was not for sale, but also committed to working with Washington on bolstering the U.S. security presence on the island and potentially increasing U.S. investments in mining. Danish leaders also said they increased spending on Arctic security by $13.7 billion last year.

On Sunday, a day after the U.S. military’s operation in Venezuela, Trump told reporters, “Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”