Former CIA official reveals underlying motives of Trump's eagerness in acquiring Greenland

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Why is Trump so eager to acquire Greenland? Former CIA official reveals underlying motives

Image : US President Trump. (Bloomberg) / https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/5316950

U.S. President Trump's insistence on acquiring Greenland has sparked international debate. Former CIA intelligence officer Andrew Bustamante recently stated on a program that he suspects there may be other motives behind President Trump's eagerness to "acquire Greenland." Firstly, gaining dominance in the Arctic is crucial for the U.S. to maintain its global influence, which is the main reason; secondly, the U.S. also hopes for greater economic independence, not only in strategic rare earth minerals but also in various other key mineral resources.

According to the Mirror, Trump recently threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Britain and seven other European countries unless they agree to allow the U.S. to purchase Greenland. Trump previously stated that the US must take Greenland for national security reasons, emphasizing that he would achieve this through "simple means" or "not simple means," hinting at the possibility of using force.

Bustarmant recently stated on a radio program that things are not as simple as they seem. He pointed out that gaining dominance in the Arctic, allowing the U.S. to maintain its global influence, is the main reason the U.S. insists on taking Greenland. Secondly, besides the strategically important rare earth minerals, the U.S. also desires various other key mineral resources.

"In other words, Greenland possesses minerals that can drive the U.S. economy, as well as rare earth minerals essential for military technology development. Furthermore, global warming makes more and more areas of Greenland easier to mine, which is naturally very attractive to the U.S.," Bustamant said.

Bustarmant believes that the U.S. does have concrete and realistic reasons to want some of Greenland's resources. However, even by U.S. standards, there is no legal basis or historical precedent for the U.S. to directly use force to acquire them. "Therefore, I think the more likely scenario is that the U.S. will reach some kind of economic agreement privately with the pro-independence political forces in Greenland," Bustamant said. He believes the U.S. will likely directly partner with local Greenlandic businesses, handling the matter through commercial means. He also believes the U.S. will find a way to avoid damaging relations with its NATO allies.

Bustamant concluded, "At this stage, Trump is actually taking this opportunity to demonstrate his strength and maintain a strategy of 'strategic ambiguity.' He already demonstrated a tough stance in Venezuela, and now he's continuing to play the same card, leaving other countries unclear about his bottom line, and even starting to consider whether they should simply comply with his demands."