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Several NATO countries are sending troops to Greenland this week, officially for joint military exercises, but clearly also to make a point, as U.S. President Donald Trump keeps talking openly about taking control of the Arctic island.
Germany, France, Sweden and Norway have all confirmed they are deploying small military teams to train alongside Danish forces. Canada and France are also moving ahead with plans to open consulates in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, adding a diplomatic layer to what is quickly becoming a very tense situation.
On paper, this kind of military cooperation isn’t unusual. NATO allies train together all the time, and Arctic exercises have been ramping up for years. But the timing couldn’t be more awkward. Trump has repeatedly said the United States should take Greenland, even hinting that force is on the table, rattling European capitals and pushing NATO into unfamiliar territory.
France was among the first to move. President Emmanuel Macron said a French military unit is already on the ground and will soon be reinforced with air, sea and land forces. Germany confirmed it sent a 13-member reconnaissance team at Denmark’s request, while Sweden and Norway are contributing personnel ahead of a joint drill known as Operation Arctic Endurance.
Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland’s defense, has been blunt: an attack on Greenland would effectively tear NATO apart. That’s because the alliance is built on the idea that an attack on one member is an attack on all, making threats from NATO’s biggest power against Danish territory almost unthinkable.
The U.S. already has about 150 troops stationed at its Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, but Trump’s latest remarks have pushed the issue into the political spotlight. Speaking recently, he said the U.S. would “do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen tried to calm the waters, calling the idea of a U.S. attack “completely hypothetical” and stressing that it’s highly unlikely one NATO country would move against another.
