WASHINGTON — What at first seemed like a joke was now serious enough for the Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday to hold a hearing entitled Greenland’s Geostrategic Importance to U.S. Interests.
“Greenland has never been some remote island. It holds immense strategic importance,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Currently, Greenland is a self-ruling autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
President Donald Trump mused about acquiring Greenland during his first term in office, but he has recently ratcheted up his rhetoric about the idea, calling it “an absolute necessity.”
Witnesses said Greenland — with its proximity to the Arctic Ocean and its abundant rare Earth minerals — is critical to U.S. interests.
“Greenland has long been a focal point for U.S. strategists looking to safeguard the periphery of our hemisphere,” said Alexander Gray of the American Foreign Policy Council.
But Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) said Trump’s assertion that the U.S. needs to own Greenland to defend American national security is “wrong.”
He continued: “I’m disappointed to have to address another ill-advised Trump Administration move against an ally, instead of focusing on improving our strategic coordination against those who do not share our values and our goals.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R- Georgia) submitted a bill — HR 1161 — that would “authorize the President to enter into negotiations to acquire Greenland and to rename Greenland as ‘Red, White, and Blueland.'”
There is one not-so-small problem with this entire idea. Greenland’s Prime Minister said last week that Greenland is “not for sale.”
Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returns to homeport in Portsmouth after 3-month deployment
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WMEC 905) returned to their home port in Portsmouth on Friday after a 92-day maritime border security operations deployment in the Florida Straits.
Spencer, a 270-foot, Famous-class medium endurance cutter, supported the Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast (HSTF-SE) and Operation Vigilant Sentry (OVS), located in the Seventh Coast Guard District’s area of responsibility.
The cutter’s main objectives are migrant interdiction, counter-drug operations, enforcement of federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
On April 6, Spencer’s crew conducted a search and rescue mission after a vessel capsized about 35 miles northeast of Boynton Beach, Florida. The survivor was transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in good condition after they were taken aboard by the Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell’s crew.
HSTF-SE is the DHS-led interagency task force established in 2003, and charged with directing operational and tactical planning, command and control. It is meant to deter, mitigate and respond to mass migration in the Caribbean Sea and Florida Straits.
OVS is the 2004 DHS plan that organizes the deployment of air, land and sea assets and personnel to the area. It is also meant to deter and dissuade maritime mass migration as well as to prevent unnecessary deaths at sea.
Prior to the patrol, Spencer was part of the service life extension program (SLEP) for two years, getting upgrades at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore.
“Although our time in Baltimore was challenging, the officers and crew of Spencer were motivated to get the ship ready for operations and embark on our inaugural post-SLEP patrol,” said Cmdr. Justin Strock, commanding officer of Spencer. “In support Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast, we provided a clear visible deterrent to anyone considering illegal entry into the country.”