Pentagon shifts Greenland to US Northern Command in shakeup

The Pentagon is redrawing its navy combatant command chargeable for defending the U.S. homeland to incorporate Greenland because the Trump administration alerts it desires management of the Danish territory.

“[This] change will strengthen the Joint Pressure’s skill to defend the U.S. homeland, contributing to a extra sturdy protection of the western hemisphere and deepening relationships with Arctic allies and companions,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson wrote in a press release Tuesday.

The adjustment will shift duty for Greenland from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command. In its announcement, the Pentagon framed the revision as a part of a broader evaluate of its Unified Command Plan, which divides the world into separate navy items and descriptions the roles and obligations of U.S. combatant instructions.

No different adjustments to the Unified Command Plan have been included within the announcement.

“Aligning Greenland with NORTHCOM will imply that it’s handled not as an outpost, however as a cornerstone of U.S. safety posture within the Excessive North,” Iris Ferguson, a former Pentagon official centered on the Arctic, wrote in an e mail.

That stated, Ferguson warned that the shift risked alienating European allies and that Denmark shouldn’t be “sidelined” amid the realignment.

European officers had anticipated the change for weeks, which a number of shops had reported forward of Tuesday’s announcement. Their concern was much less concerning the shift itself, on condition that Greenland sits near the U.S. homeland, than how the administration would announce it.

Since returning to workplace, President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the U.S. ought to management the territory, now a semiautonomous a part of Denmark.

“Somehow, we’re going to get it,” Trump stated throughout a March speech earlier than Congress.

The Pentagon announcement didn’t point out any intent to annex the territory, and the president didn’t instantly recommend such a alternative was potential Tuesday, possible assuaging some Europeans’ considerations.

Nonetheless, whereas testifying earlier than the Home final week, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to rule out that the U.S. could use drive to take Greenland, even when inspired by a fellow Republican to make clear earlier remarks.

“I feel the American individuals would need the Pentagon to have plans for something,” Hegseth stated, suggesting the navy has ready for the opportunity of seizing the territory.

Democrats on the committee scoffed at his remarks.

“I don’t suppose the American individuals voted for President Trump as a result of they have been hoping we might invade Greenland,” stated committee rating member, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.

This story has been up to date with commentary from a former Pentagon official.