“We are creating a credible deterrent,” Danish officials confirmed, declining to specify against whom.
Denmark deployed an advance military command to Greenland this week as NATO allies scrambled to establish what officials described as a “credible deterrent” on the island—marking the first time in the alliance’s 75-year history that member states have positioned forces to defend against a potential operation by the United States. Sweden has already sent troops. Britain is considering similar moves.
The deployments follow weeks of escalating rhetoric from Washington, where administration officials have repeatedly declined to rule out military action against the NATO ally. “I would like to make a deal the easy way,” the president said last week. “But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
Alliance Officials Stress Routine Nature of Unprecedented Deployment
Pentagon officials emphasized that the Danish deployment does not represent a change in the alliance’s fundamental structure. “NATO remains committed to collective defense,” one defense official explained. “The fact that we’re now defending against ourselves is consistent with that mission.”
The Danish advance command will coordinate with existing U.S. forces already stationed at Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland, where American personnel have maintained a presence for decades. Officials confirmed the two nations’ forces would continue joint exercises, though the exercises may now include “de-escalation scenarios” that did not previously exist.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller dismissed concerns about allied military movements, noting on January 5 that “nobody’s going to fight the United States” over Greenland. The same week, his wife Katie Miller, also a White House aide, posted an image on social media of an American flag superimposed over Greenland with the caption: “SOON.”
State Department Reassurances Followed by White House Clarification
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with members of Congress last week to reassure them that the administration intended only to offer to purchase the island. The following day, the White House issued a statement reaffirming that “utilizing” the military “is always an option.”
Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met with Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio at the White House and emerged to announce that any solution not respecting territorial sovereignty was “totally unacceptable.” The Danish foreign minister described these as Denmark’s “red lines” on the matter.
Defense analysts noted that the phrase “red lines” carries different weight when applied to an ally versus an adversary. “Traditionally, we’re the ones establishing red lines,” one analyst observed. “Having them established against us is a novel development in alliance management.”
Strategic Implications Extend Beyond Arctic
Political scientist Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group noted on social media this week that “nobody wants the United States to take control of Greenland—and, accordingly, destroy NATO—more than Putin.” Russian officials have not commented publicly on the allied deployments.
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Jeanne Shaheen introduced the NATO Unity Protection Act, which would explicitly prohibit using federal funding “to blockade, occupy, annex or otherwise assert control over the sovereign territory of a NATO member state without that ally’s consent.” Administration officials indicated they had not reviewed the legislation.
The president, asked about Denmark’s military response, noted that he is “a fan” of Denmark.
Developing.
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