US authorities ordered spy agencies to increase their efforts to gather information about Greenland, according to two sources with knowledge of the subject, in a sign that President Donald Trump apparently remains focused on acquiring the island.
The directive was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The measure caused Denmark objections, an NATO ally who rules the semi-autonomous island.
Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he will call the American ambassador to the report. “This worries me a lot because we don’t spy friends,” Rasmussen said, according to Ritzau news agency.
The intelligence director’s office sent a directive last week to the intelligence agencies to collect information about Greenland’s political movement, perceptions of US interest in the island’s resources and identify people who support Washington’s goals to Arctic Island, sources said.
The directive came in the form of a “collection of emphasis on the collection,” which establishes priorities for intelligence efforts, the sources said.
James Hewitt, a White House National Security Council door, said in one and email: “We did not comment on intelligence issues. However, the president was very clear that the US is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.”
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard claimed in a statement that government officials were trying to undermine Trump, leaking classified information.
“The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed to help deep state actors seeking to undermine the president, politicizing and leaking classified information,” the statement said. “They are violating the law and undermining the security and democracy of our nation. Those who leak information will be found and held responsible for the full length of the law.”
Gabbard added: “I referred to three illegal leaks to the Justice Department for criminal proceedings and we are investigating almost a dozen more.”
It was unclear why the government was turning to espionage to get information about a US ally that could probably be obtained by diplomats or open source research, said Marc Polymeropoulos, former CIA officer.
“This seems to be something that can be treated by the diplomatic channels and the state department,” he said. “Why would you waste precious resources for intelligence in this?”
In an interview last weekend with NBC News Kristen Welker, Trump refused to discard the seizure of the territory by force.
“I don’t say I’m going to do that, but don’t discard anything,” said Trump. “We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people, we will take care of, and enjoy them and all this. But we need it for international security.”
In a speech to a joint congress session in March, Trump said, “In one way or another, we will make it.”
A January survey commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and the Groenlandic Daily Sermitsiaq showed that 85% of Greenlanders do not want their island to become part of the United States.
The US Armed Forces have a northwestern base of Greenland, which is part of a ballistic missile system.
Greenland assumed the increase in strategic importance as global warming has caused a competition in the Arctic among the powers of the world. And the rare land minerals of Greenland, uranium and iron are of growing global interest, as climate change can make these natural resources more accessible.