Greenland is not a marginal issue for Europeans. Threats against it cut to the heart of the idea of Europe, of sovereignty, international law and trust. Key European leaders recently stressed they are united in their position that it is up to Denmark and Greenland to decide their own fate — and no one else. The potential for a crisis is real, and what is most confounding is that this would be a crisis that is entirely unnecessary and easily avoidable.
Threatening to annex territory belonging to a NATO ally strikes at the very foundation of the alliance. NATO is not merely a military grouping; it is a community of liberal democracies that has endured precisely because its members trust — and do not threaten — one another. They consult, negotiate and resolve disputes peacefully. This shared political culture is not a luxury — it is NATO’s greatest strategic asset. It sets us apart from those that depend on threats and tricks to keep their “friends” together.
Continue reading “An attack on Greenland “would make America weaker, not safer””
Category: National Defence
Canada may send military to Greenland as show of NATO solidarity with Denmark [Updated]
Canada has drawn up plans to send a contingent of soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with other NATO allies in the face of threats from the US president to annex the semi-autonomous island controlled by Denmark.
Two senior government officials told The Globe and Mail that the Canadian Armed Forces is awaiting final political approval from Prime Minister Mark Carney before the soldiers are flown to Greenland.
In separate reporting, two senior Canadian officials told CBC News that a set of contingency plans were drawn up last week and presented to the federal government.
US increasingly focused on Canada to ensuring American dominance in the Arctic
The president’s intensifying focus on Canada behind closed doors, whose relationship with the US has been deeply strained since he came into office, comes as he transforms some of his longtime criticisms of America’s neighbours in the Western Hemisphere into actions aimed at expanding US power in the region.
Protecting Canada’s northern border is a key part of Trump and his top aides’ vision of “solidifying” the Western Hemisphere, as one of the US officials put it. As the Americans see it, the acquisition of Greenland would also benefit Canada.
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DW interviews Ben Hodges: ‘Threatening Greenland is strategic madness’
Ben Hodges: 'Threatening Greenland is strategic madness' | DW News
Greenland, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela ‒ In a wide-ranging conversation with DW Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl, retired US General Ben Hodges offers a blunt and deeply critical assessment of the US’ current foreign and security policy.
Hodges warns of serious damage to NATO, questions the lack of long-term strategy behind recent military actions, and explains why Ukraine is far from losing — and why that still matters for Europe’s security.
Former UN Ambassador Bob Rae talks with Amanda Lang about the world in these unprecedented time
Former UN Ambassador Bob Rae on the New World Order | WONK with Amanda Lang
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, France, and the UK are sending troops to Greenland [Updated]
Amid continued threats by Trump to annex Greenland, the territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO member, multiple outlets report Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada are sending troops to Greenland.
The deployment is not meant to spark a confrontation against the US, but a measure to ensure the common security interests of all NATO partners.
Chatham House Director warns ‘This does mark the end of the Western alliance’
Bronwen Maddox, Director and Chief Executive of the Chatham House international affairs think-tank, gave her annual lecture at the institution’s London headquarters on January 13, 2026, said, ‘We have had from President Trump what amounts to a revolution. He has given the US a radically new role in the world and – at the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence – a role that rejects the principles on which the US was founded: that government should be accountable to the people.’
Maddox added, ‘Most profound, we have had the rejection of principles of international law that the US helped forge – even if it often declined to apply those to itself. Venezuela brandished that rejection to the world, followed by the President’s intention to acquire Greenland.
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US senators introduce bill to prevent the US military from occupying or annexing NATO territories, including Greenland
The bipartisan legislation would prohibit the Pentagon and the US State Department from using funds appropriated by Congress to “blockade, occupy, annex, conduct military operations against, or otherwise assert control” over the territory of a NATO member state.
The legislation from senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, and Republican senator Lisa Murkowski comes as lawmakers in both parties have expressed alarm over President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland after the US recently captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Trump on Sunday said the US would have the Danish territory “one way or the other”.
Source:
Financial Times: US Senate introduces bill to stop military from occupying NATO territories https://www.ft.com/content/c8b309a0-d214-4bb7-9630-bfcaa91925a3
Canadian Coast Guard to build a new maintenance facility in Sydney to service icebreakers
Mike Kelloway, the Liberal MP for Sydney-Glace Bay, made the announcement on behalf of Defence Minister David McGuinty on Tuesday at the Canadian Coast Guard Academy.
The new facility will be “a next step towards continued strategic investments in Canada’s security and sovereignty in the Arctic,” Kelloway said before a crowd of about 200 coast guard officials, politicians and business and industry leaders.
“By strengthening our Arctic presence, we are protecting vital national interests and reinforcing Canada’s ability to respond to challenges in one of the most important regions for our future.”
Source:
Tom Ayers, CBC: Coast guard selects Sydney harbour for icebreaker maintenance facility https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coast-guard-selects-sydney-for-icebreaker-maintenance-9.7043609
NORAD has noted more coordinated activity between Russia and China in the Arctic
US Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), says air and sea incursions into the areas just outside North America have not only become more frequent, but also more coordinated between the Russians and Chinese.
Those actions may be intended to test the reaction of the US and Canadian militaries.
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