Mastodawn

#Europe draws red line on #Greenland after a year of futilely trying to pacify #Trump
 While many European leaders’ reactions to the #Venezuela raid were muted, there have been forceful rebukes about the Trump admin’s greediness on Greenland.

#MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Denmark #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #NaturalResources #oil #minerals #sovereignty #ShippingLanes #ClimateChange #theft #piracy #greed #InternationalLaw
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/01/07/trump-us-europe-greenland/

Europe draws red line on Greenland after a year of trying to pacify Trump

While many European leaders’ reactions to the Venezuela raid were muted, there have been forceful rebukes about the Trump administration’s greediness on Greenland.

The Washington Post

For the last year, European friends-turned-frenemies of the #UnitedStates have delicately navigated one shock after another, hoping for the best as #Trump threatened to lay waste to the #GlobalOrder.
 When Trump scolded #NATO #allies, lambasted #Ukraine’s president, laid on #tariffs & framed ratified #treaties as conditional deals, the go-to play by #Europe was to placate—with #military #spending pledges, #trade concessions, disciplined summits, in language scrubbed of #morality or judgment.

It wasn’t always elegant, or dignified, but the policy of strategic acquiescence seemed to be working, *sort of*. #US arms kept flowing to #Ukraine, an all-out #trade war was averted & #Trump deigned to say some nice things about #NATO.

Then came the strikes on #Caracas, explosions that echoed in capitals around the world. Governments that spent years preaching #restraint, legality & #multilateralism found themselves scrambling for words to express unease without triggering #Trump’s fury.

The precarious strategy of managing #Trump, rather than confronting him, looked more exposed when the president & his inner circle revived their talk of “getting” #Greenland & even floated the idea of #military action. To European ears, it sounded less like bluster than a retrograde worldview now backed by unvarnished American might: #power over process, #leverage over #law, #loyalty conditioned on utility.

#MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #law #sovereignty #InternationalLaw

“It’s approaching a full-on existential crisis,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for #Europe at political risk consultancy #Eurasia Group. “It could be far greater than #Russia invading #Ukraine because Russia is an adversary. Now, it’s the guarantor of European #security undermining European security.”

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #US #Greenland #Denmark #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #NaturalResources #sovereignty #ClimateChange #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

Where many European leaders’ reactions to the #Venezuela raid were muted, caveated or outsourced to #legal abstractions about the #UNCharter, European leaders on Tuesday came out with uncommonly forceful rebukes about the #Trump admin’s greediness on #Greenland.

 
#MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Denmark #Europe #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #NaturalResources #oil #minerals #sovereignty #ShippingLanes #ClimateChange #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

The PM of #Denmark, a #NATO member, said a #US action on #Greenland, a territory of the kingdom of Denmark for >300 years, would be the end of the #alliance. Leaders of #France, #Germany, #Italy, #Poland, #Spain & #Britain closed ranks with Copenhagen, issuing a joint statement that Greenland’s future is a matter for “Denmark & Greenland, & them only.”

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #NaturalResources #sovereignty #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

#Denmark & #Greenland have stated emphatically, & repeatedly, that the huge #Arctic territory — sparsely populated with 59,000 mostly #Indigenous residents & boasting potentially rich deposits of #RareEarth #minerals — is not for sale. Greenland is officially designated as an #autonomous region, & residents say they have no intention of living under the yoke of a new #colonial ruler.

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #law #sovereignty #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

#Trump, posting on Truth Social on Wednesday, seemed to bristle at suggestions that he was endangering #NATO, boasting that he had pressured #allies to raise spending. “Most weren’t paying their bills, UNTIL I CAME ALONG,” Trump wrote. “I, respectfully, got them to 5% GDP, AND THEY PAY, immediately. Everyone said that couldn’t be done, but it could, because, beyond all else, they are all my friends.”

#delusional #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Greenland #Denmark #Europe #InternationalLaw

“RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE ZERO FEAR OF NATO WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM,” #Trump continued. “EVERYONE IS LUCKY THAT I REBUILT OUR MILITARY IN MY FIRST TERM, AND CONTINUE TO DO SO. We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us. The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A.”

#delusional #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #US #Greenland #Denmark #Europe #NATO #InternationalLaw

On #Greenland, however, conflicting signals from Washington, have only heightened the anxiety.
Secy of #State #MarcoRubio on Monday told lawmakers in a closed briefing that Trump’s goal is to #buy Greenland from #Denmark, playing down #military action. But on Tuesday, White House press secy Karoline Leavitt said #Trump & his team are “discussing a range of options” & that “utilizing the #US military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”
#MafiaState #geopolitics #Europe #NATO

A day later Speaker of the #House #MikeJohnson downplayed the likelihood of force.
 “The #US always has #military options for everything,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “I think with #Greenland it’s very clear that we are working through diplomatic channels.”

#Europe had been riding out #Trump’s shocks, betting there would be limits. To many, those bets now look much riskier.

#MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #law #NaturalResources #sovereignty #InternationalLaw

#NATO has survived clashing #allies before. Greece & Turkey, notably, have been in a standoff since Turkish forces occupied northern Cyprus in 1974. But, as Rahman noted, the #US, NATO’s wealthiest & most powerful member, was instrumental in mediating that rift.
“Now it is causing it,” he said. “NATO can’t survive a forceful #annexation. The #alliance would be meaningless even if it continues to exist on paper.”

#Trump #MafiaState #geopolitics #Greenland #Europe #NewWorldOrder #InternationalLaw

Tensions over Greenland’s status were already escalating even before the #Venezuela raid.

…After the Caracas operation, the rhetoric grew edgier &—following #Trump’s effective takeover of a sovereign neighbor—far more believable.
 White House deputy chief of staff #StephenMiller said Tuesday that the “formal position” of the #US is that #Greenland should be American, for national security reasons, &, that essentially, it was Trump’s for the taking.

#MafiaState #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #law

“Nobody’s going to fight the #UnitedStates militarily over the future of Greenland,” #StephenMiller said.

Miller’s wife posted an image of the American flag superimposed on a map of #Greenland with the caption “SOON.”
 “It’s clear that some people in & adjacent to the administration felt empowered by the success of the operation,” said Heather Hurlburt, an associate fellow in the Americas Program at Chatham House, the London-based think tank.

#Trump #MafiaState #geopolitics #NATO #law

Hurlburt cited a retired #US general who viewed the #Trump White House move in #Venezuela & its fixation on #Greenland as reminiscent of teenagers playing the geostrategic board game Risk.
 “Once you start down the road of the #MonroeDoctrine or the #DonroeDoctrine, or whatever we’re saying now, you look at a map of the #WesternHemisphere, & there is Greenland,” she said.

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #InternationalLaw

Whether its gaming or grasping, European leaders face unpalatable choices. One is to stick with the unified hard line that emerged in recent days, making clear that any move on #Greenland could trigger a response by European #allies — not against #Russia or #China but, unthinkably, against the #UnitedStates.

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #greed #geopolitics #Europe #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #NaturalResources #sovereignty #ShippingLanes #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

Invoking the #NATO treaties collective defense clause, known as #Article5, under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all, requires the #unanimity of all 32 #allies. The #US, of course, would reject any plea for help by #Denmark — effectively neutering the #treaty.
 “Article 5 did not anticipate that the invading country would be a member of NATO,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told reporters asking about bill in #Congress to prohibit #Trump for acting in #Greenland.

#Military experts say #Denmark & #Greenland would stand no chance against American #military might. In reality that is nonstarter in every way; political analysts across the board agree with #StephenMiller that no one will go to #war over Greenland. #Europe is too dependent on the #US militarily & economically to risk a true break.
 #Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #greed #geopolitics #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #WarPowers #sovereignty #InternationalLaw

But the mere prospect of such conflict only highlights how much more difficult it is now for #US #allies to toe the line with #Trump. That, too, could lead to a drastic deterioration of the transatlantic #alliance if not its end, analysts say.

“Many European countries are still seeking to ride both a European and an American horse,” Rahman said. “That may become impossible.”

#MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #Greenland #Denmark #Europe #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #InternationalLaw

Another option would be to make a deal on #Greenland — a sale or lease, with expanded access to #mineral rights, & #US role in #security. In the event of a crisis, “the rest of #Europe will lean on #Denmark to make some kind of arrangement with the #US,” Rahman said.

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #geopolitics #NATO #NewWorldOrder #law #Congress #WarPowers #NaturalResources #oil #minerals #sovereignty #ShippingLanes #ClimateChange #theft #piracy #InternationalLaw

A #LouisianaPurchase style transaction may be the least likely. Danish #law recognizes Greenlanders as a people with the right to decide their own future, meaning Copenhagen cannot barter the island away even if it wanted to. Any change in #sovereignty would first require #Greenland to choose #independence — a separate #legal, electoral process — before it could negotiate anything with Washington.

#Trump #MafiaState #imperialism #greed #geopolitics #Denmark #Europe #NATO #law #InternationalLaw

Some European ofcls are arguing quietly that the pushback coming from #Europe capitals may be counterproductive. A flat “no” never sits well with #Trump, they point out, & his most hard-line supporters delight in turning up the volume whenever the White House is challenged.
 “This administration, when provoked, doubles down,” said a European diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity….

#MafiaState #imperialism #greed #geopolitics #Greenland #NATO #law #Congress #InternationalLaw

@Nonilex i am sorry man, but what part of "it is not for sale" did not come through clearly?

Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲Jan 7

Really? Like Ukraine didn't stand a chance against Russia?

Alessandro Corazza 🇨🇦Jan 7

No offence to Greenlanders, but that's a wildly different comparison. Ukraine has 40 million people with a long martial history as well as a considerable arms manufacturing and shipbuilding industry.

Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲Jan 7

I'm saying don't underestimate resistance just because of the size differences.

Tom DB 🦣Jan 7

@Nonilex That’s why Europe has a similar clause in another EU treaty.

Dr. Sobek Jan 7

@Nonilex The question being, is Greenland covered in the EU defense clauses ? Because they also exist and USA has no say in them.

@Nonilex Greenland i Trump's goto when he does something sketchy (like kidnapping a venezuelan president) - is this the second or third time Greenpand is used to turn away attention from something else? 🤔

GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺Jan 7

@Nonilex Basically, this is geopolitical pussy-grabbing. Which they supposedly "let you do" when "you're a star".

Steve Hersey Jan 7

@Nonilex
"Trump's effective takeover" seems to seriously overstate the situation.

He abducted the president and killed a few dozen people, but the Chavistas are still in charge and the government is still functioning essentially as before.

All the crap about control and oil and cooperation is just hot air until proven, and there isn't a single pair of American boots on the ground to enforce any of it. (Not that it would be possible to enforce compliance that way, we haven't the troops.)

Jenkins. Tom Jenkins. 🤮🤢🤮Jan 7

@Nonilex for national and security reasons #Alaska should be #Ruzzian again, as it was for hundreds of years. How does that sound to #idiotinchief ?

Jenkins. Tom Jenkins. 🤮🤢🤮Jan 7

@Nonilex today it’s #Greenland, tomorrow #Iceland, then it’s already #Europe as a whole. If this lunatic lives long enough.

Steve Hersey Jan 7

@Nonilex
I think NATO would become a Europe-only (or Europe plus Canada) organization, which would be less powerful but certainly not meaningless.
Perhaps NATO itself would become meaningless, but the European NATO member states clearly see the value of what NATO is. They'll replace it if necessary.

PG19582🇺🇸🇹🇩🇺🇦🇵🇸Jan 7

@Nonilex why hasn't Congress acted to stop this absurdity? He is completely out of control, running amok and everyone just placates him.

Peter Brown Jan 7

@Nonilex what a coincidence! Exactly what Putin wants.

And once NATO is defanged he’ll carry on annexing neighbouring countries to Russia

Steve Woods Jan 7

@Nonilex tRump is bullshitting again (I know he can't help it).

The *only* time NATO's mutual assistance clause has been invoked was by the USA after the 9/11 attacks and resulted in the fiasco of #Afghanistan.

Estarriol, Terrorist Dragon Jan 7

@Nonilex given that the only country to invoke NATO was, drum roll, the USA I think he is assbackwards again.