Washington is prioritizing its own interests amid growing Arctic rivalry and interest in Greenland, Danish intelligence has said
The United States has for the first time been flagged as a possible security concern in Denmark’s annual intelligence outlook, which cites a more forceful US pursuit of its interests in the Arctic and renewed pressure over Greenland.
A semi-autonomous Danish territory of fewer than 60,000 people, Greenland has become central to the friction between Copenhagen and Washington. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants the island brought under American control, calling it a strategically vital asset because of its Arctic location and mineral wealth, and he has refused to rule out using military force to that end.
In its annual public risk assessment published on Wednesday, intelligence service FE said the global order is becoming more conflict-driven, with major states using economic, technological, and military instruments more forcefully to secure national goals. Alongside its assessments of Russia and China, the report included a new section titled ‘The US is changing the agenda’, which explained that Washington is increasingly prioritizing its own interests and “now using its economic and technological strength as a tool of power, also toward allies and partners.”
Aside from tariff-related pressures, the US “no longer rules out using military force, even against allies,” the agency added.
The wording marks a notable change for the NATO member state, whose security has traditionally rested on the US-led military bloc. FE also pointed to growing uncertainty about how Washington will balance its strategic priorities in the coming years, including the durability of the US role as Europe’s main security guarantor. Trump has repeatedly urged the bloc’s European members to take primary responsibility for their own security, including by sharply raising military spending.
The rising great-power competition in the Arctic has sharply increased international attention to the region, FE wrote. “This applies in particular to the United States’ growing interest in Greenland and its importance to US national security,” it said.
Denmark, which views renewed US pressure over Greenland as a direct threat to its sovereignty, has responded by strengthening its Arctic defense and expanding military and civil monitoring on the island.
