Everything is connected
Former NATO boss and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen said on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, that Trump’s insistence that Greenland should become part of the US represented the biggest challenge to NATO since its establishment in 1949.
“It’s really the future of NATO that is at stake,” said Rasmussen, who offers a unique perspective on the crisis as a former leader of both Denmark – from 2001 to 2009 – and NATO, where he served as secretary general from 2009 to 2014.
According to a survey by public opinion pollster Research Co., released Monday January 19, 2026, few Americans share Trump’s expansionist aspirations.
Two thirds of Americans (66%) want Canada to remain an independent nation, while 10% would “prefer” Canada become a US territory and 7% would declare it the 51st State.
The results are similar when Americans ponder Mexico, with just over two thirds (67%) maintaining the status quo of Mexico as an independent nation and fewer opting for the country to become a US territory (10%) or an American state (5%).
Trump’s text message on Sunday, January 18, 2026, to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, stating he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of peace” after he failed to win Norway’s Nobel Peace Prize, was confirmed by Prime Minister Støre.
Trump questioned Denmark’s claim to Greenland and said he would put American interests first. “The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” Trump wrote.
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””
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.
Continue reading “US increasingly focused on Canada to ensuring American dominance in the Arctic”
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.
DeepSeek benefited from being open, free, and strategically distributed in regions often excluded from the first wave of AI adoption. This dynamic also highlights how open‑source AI can function as a geopolitical instrument, extending Chinese influence in areas where Western platforms cannot easily operate.
China’s artificial intelligence start-up Deepseek has quickly gained market share in many developing nations, surpassing US models that are popular in the West.
Setting: Rising tensions as the Trump administration continues to apply pressure in it’s desire to acquire Greenland.
Trump on Wednesday January 7, 2026, attacked NATO’s reliability, claiming he was not convinced the alliance would come to the aid of the US in a crisis.
“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark said in a joint statement on Tuesday January 6, 2026.
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up,” the statement said. “We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”
Continue reading “European leaders rally to support Denmark and Greenland”
The division of the world into spheres of influence implies that smaller countries cannot influence events, and it’s a grave mistake to imagine Venezuelans won’t try. Many of them wanted an American intervention, are overjoyed that Maduro is gone, and no wonder: He and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, together turned the richest country in South America into the poorest, fortifying their ugly security state with guns and surveillance systems purchased from autocracies around the world.
But now that Maduro is gone, the people who fought for years for justice, freedom, and self-determination aren’t going to want to live in a Trump-backed dictatorship staffed with Maduro’s cronies. One Venezuelan exile, who requested anonymity because of risks to his family, told me that on Saturday, he felt like he was on a roller coaster. First the elation of Maduro’s exit, then the shock of Trump’s press conference, then the angry realization that maybe nothing has changed and he still can’t go home.