Starting a war to distract from the war we started to distract from the Epstein files

A company headed by Donald Trump supporters is deliberately provoking a confrontation on the east coast of Greenland that could turn into overt conflict between the United States and European allies. This is happening as Iran has stopped even pretending to negotiate an end to Trump’s economy-wrecking assault, American military families are getting sick of seeing their loved ones pay the price of Trump’s stupidity, and America’s missile stock is running perilously low.

Jobs are disappearing. Inflation remains high. In his attempts to artificially suppress the price of oil, Trump has so drained the national strategic reserve that the salt caverns where the oil is stored could collapse if he takes any more. Despite wrangling a new chief for the express purpose of getting cheaper money, there’s every expectation that the combination of falling jobs and stubborn inflation could drive the Federal Reserve to raise rates at its next meeting.

If Dickens were writing today, no one would pretend this was the best of times.With just 84 days remaining before the midterm elections, it’s no wonder that Democratic chances of capturing both the House and the Senate are growing by the day.

Big media has stopped even mentioning Epstein, so perhaps all of this is worth it for Trump. Still, this seems like the kind of environment where the Republican-dominated Congress should be lined up outside the White House, begging for some last minute sop they can throw voters to sway a few critical races.

It doesn’t seem they’re going to get it. Instead, they’re getting this:

An American oil company connected to Donald Trump is preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland despite not having received permission from the local authorities. …

That has prompted Greenland’s government to issue a “strong warning” that no approval had been granted to land the kit. “All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority – before they are carried out,” the government said in a statement.

Despite having no permission, and being told explicitly not to unload any equipment or personnel, Greenland Energy Company, has unloaded at least 15 shipping containers reportedly loaded with drilling equipment in Nunap Qeqqa, also called Jameson Land, on Greenland’s east coast.

Greenland Energy says it intends to drill two exploration wells in the area, which will earn it “a 70% interest in the entire basin.” This is awfully bold for a company that has no agreement with the Greenland government. There’s also the little problem that Greenland has a complete moratorium on new oil and gas drilling anywhere in the territory since 2021.

The oil company, which has never actually produced any oil or drilled any holes, claims that it obtained the rights to drill in Nunap Qeqqa from another company, 80 Mile, which obtained a trio of permits to explore in the area from the now defunct White Flame Energy before the moratorium went into place. Why was 80 Mile willing to surrender this permit to what Greenland Energy maintains could be a “$1 trillion” resource? Because it’s unclear if these permits are still worth anything. The moratorium forbids all new drilling projects, and neither White Flame nor 80 Mile ever did any actual drilling.

Greenland certainly doesn’t seem to feel this permit has any validity*.

Last week, however, the head of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Jørgen Hammeken-Holm, told Danwatch that Greenland Energy does not have “permission to unload anything at all.” And the head of the department confirms this again on Thursday.

He also confirms that the maneuver that Greenland Energy has carried out in Nerlerit Inaat requires a permit.

And that it is a permit that they do not have.

That doesn’t seem to be slowing down the Texas-based “oil company” which has already announced plans to unload additional drilling gear. According to their press releases, they have reached an agreement with oil services giant Haliburton to support a drilling campaign in 2026. Considering the location, if any drilling is going to happen this year, it’s got to happen soon.

Greenland the company claims that it’s currently negotiating to “complete“ its permits. Greenland the country says no such negotiations are going on. In fact, the “warning” from Greenland officials included not just a threat of action by local police, but a potential appeal to the Danish military. This brings the prospect that we could be days away from a confrontation in which officials in Greenland attempt to block operations, confiscate equipment, or arrest personnel of a Trump-aligned American company.

How would Trump respond? Well …

The Greenland Energy Company LinkedIn page insists the company has already dispatched a drilling rig to Greenland and confidently predicts their operations are moving forward. They have also been pushing the idea of their ownership of any reserves found in the entire basin.

This is an on-shore operation. If Greenland Energy does unload a rig at its site, they could be drilling in a matter of days. It seems unlikely that the company will stop unless they are forced to stop.

In their statements, the company seems to be ignoring any response or demand by the government of Greenland. Maybe that’s just confidence. But maybe that confidence comes from expectations that someone will step in to save them if they get in trouble.

It is not clear that Greenland Energy is pushing at this moment in order to give Trump an excuse to step in and divert attention from his debacle in Iran. But it seems very unlikely that Trump will step back if Greenland officials step in.

Republicans must be thrilled.

* translated from Denwatch Investigative Journal