Posted by Denmark’s hardening its position on Greenland. Not issuing empty statements. Actually mobilizing: Accelerating Arctic defense spending, tightening legal claims, locking in EU backing early. The private message to Washington according to Politico: Unilateral U.S. move on Greenland doesn’t weaken NATO. It ends NATO. Not hyperbole. Actual position. Denmark’s calculation makes sense when you understand what Greenland actually is. It’s core northern hemisphere infrastructure: – Thule Air Base: Ballistic missile early warning system – Arctic air and naval dominance positioning – Critical subsea cable routes – Rare earth mineral deposits – Future polar shipping lane control as ice melts Whoever controls Greenland sets rules for entire northern hemisphere military and commercial operations. That’s why Denmark’s rallying allies before anything happens. Because once precedent breaks, it doesn’t reset. If U.S. can seize territory from NATO ally by force or coercion, every security guarantee from Baltic states to Taiwan becomes conditional. Article 5 means nothing if Article 5 member is the threat. Stephen Miller already refused to rule out military action. Called Greenland “colony that should join U.S.” His wife posted Greenland in U.S. flag colors captioned “SOON.” Trump just demonstrated in Venezuela he’ll actually execute 5-month planned operations involving 150 aircraft to capture foreign leaders. Europe’s watching. 7 nations already issued joint sovereignty statement. Now Denmark moving beyond statements to actual defense preparation. The damage is already done even if U.S. never moves militarily. That’s Politico’s key observation. Europe will hedge. They have to. Strategic autonomy conversations accelerate from abstract policy papers to urgent necessity. Can’t rely on security guarantor that might seize your territory. U.S. leadership shifts from assumed to negotiated. Deal by deal. Conditional. No more automatic alliance cohesion. This is system trust collapse in real time. Trump probably doesn’t take Greenland militarily. Cost too high, NATO dissolution too damaging. But threatening it while refusing to rule out force after just capturing Venezuela’s president? That changes calculations permanently. Greenland is a stress test for whether the post-1945 order still exists. That’s the actual stakes. Not whether Trump gets Greenland. Whether allies believe American security commitments are reliable or just conditional extensions of American power that can be revoked when inconvenient. Denmark’s answer: Prepare like they’re conditional. Spend on Arctic defense. Rally European coalition. Make clear NATO ends if U.S. moves. Europe’s learning the lesson: American protection comes with American threats attached. Better start building alternatives. Source: Politico
Who Watches the Watchers? 