Tag: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO has 32 member countries. NATO Allies are sovereign states that come together to discuss political and security issues and make collective decisions by consensus.

NATO chief’s Trump flattery strains the alliance

Trump rocked European allies this month by threatening to seize Greenland from NATO and EU member Denmark. The crisis has reinforced calls for the European continent to cut its decades-long reliance on the US for defences.

Politico spoke to more than a dozen NATO insiders, diplomats, and current and former colleagues of NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte. They described a leader admired as a skilled crisis manager who recently pulled off a win on Greenland, but at the cost of deepening European unease about NATO’s long-term future.

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France sends flagship aircraft carrier into North Atlantic as European leaders close ranks over Greenland and tensions test NATO unity

The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle set sail from the Mediterranean port of Toulon.

French officials declined to give precise details of its route, sources said the carrier strike group is heading into the North Atlantic,

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NATO’s security general says Europe cannot defend itself without the US

“If anyone thinks here … that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming,” NATO chief Mark Rutte told lawmakers on the European Parliament’s defence and foreign affairs committees. “You can’t.”

Rutte then went on to criticize NATO allies. A “European pillar [of NATO] is a bit of an empty word,” arguing a European army would create “a lot of duplication” with the alliance. Moreover, Russian President Vladimir “Putin will love it,” Rutte added.

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British security expert Edward Lucas says NATO cannot rely on the United States

Lucas believes “NATO is dying,” comparing it to a “marriage where you have one of the partners in the marriage using threats of violence and mocking the other partner for being trusting and idealistic.”

British security expert Edward Lucas: 'We can't rely on the United States' | DW News

Source: Deutsche Welle (DW)

Some Canadian military personnel are subject to Trump’s orders [Updated]

Canada and the US have exchanged military personnel for decades. Beyond joint task-forces, intelligence sharing, and organizations like NATO and NORAD, Canada’s DND also regularly sends members of the CAF on exchange programs with US military units, sometimes for years.

Canadian Brigadier-General Robert McBride is the deputy commanding general of operations for the US 11th Airborne Division in Alaska. His role in a division waiting to support US ICE is a pointed example of how Canadian military personnel are caught awkwardly between Trump’s orders, Canada’s military mandate, Canadian law, and public opinion.

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Trump’s insistence that Greenland become part of the US is the biggest challenge to NATO since its establishment in 1949 [Updated]

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.

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Canada should join European countries to show strong solidarity with Greenland, Denmark, and NATO

Trump faces off with NATO allies over Greenland

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.

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An attack on Greenland “would make America weaker, not safer”

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.

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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.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Greenland ‘can only be defended if it is part of the US’

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday, January 18, 2026, defended the president’s calls for the US to take over Greenland amid concerns from European allies that an annexation would destroy NATO relations.

Scott Bessent says Greenland ‘can only be defended if it is part of the U.S.’: Full interview