Trump's US Threat to Greenland (which belongs to Denmark)

[dann]

They would have to arrest Vance too.

Too lame. I think I prefer Designated Survivor where Kiefer Sutherland "suddenly ascends from the position of U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to President of the United States after an explosion kills everyone ahead of him in the presidential line of succession."
Who is the current U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?
Is it even a thing anymore?
Didn't DOGE eliminate it along with the Department of Education?
Anyway, I would prefer something with explosions!

 

[dann]

‘There’s a real paradox here’: Fmr. Amb. asks Trump for convincing reason for Greenland takeover (MSNBC on YouTube, Mar 29, 2025 - 8:26 min.)
Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, NSA Waltz, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) visited Greenland Friday where Vance took the opportunity to bash Denmark’s government, drawing criticism from Greenlanders and Denmark. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul weighs in on the visit, Greenlanders’ response to the visit, and the current state of the conflict in Ukraine.

The former ambassador points out the weird contradictions when Trump talks about Russia: friend or foe?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Donald says using military force to “get Greenland” is on the table

Everything is on the table to obtain Greenland

The president on Saturday said he has "absolutely" had real conversations about annexing Greenland, which is currently a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
"We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," Trump said.

He added that there's a "good possibility that we could do it without military force" but that "I don't take anything off the table."

Trump says he ‘couldn’t care less’ if foreign automakers raise prices due to tariffs

In a phone interview with NBC News, President Donald Trump also said he wouldn’t fire anyone involved in the Signal group chat.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Hercules56]

Donald says using military force to “get Greenland” is on the table

Hmmmm, his second term may last a lot shorter than we thought. I think there are a lot of generals and other lower level people who will refuse to attack a NATO ally. And arrest anyone who gives such an order.

 

[Olmstead]

Hmmmm, his second term may last a lot shorter than we thought. I think there are a lot of generals and other lower level people who will refuse to attack a NATO ally. And arrest anyone who gives such an order.

Yeah? So why aren't they speaking out now? Where's the outrage from the military? The President has just stated that a completely unprovoked attack is a possibility. Are they going to call out the fascist?

 

[steenkh]

Part of me hopes Trump does try a military invasion, so that the generals can arrest his ass.

It’s not going to happen … the arrest I mean. The military is as cowed as the rest of the U.S. society.

 

[Vixen]

Little Britain comes to the USA:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1905759612361474055

 

[Explorer]

It’s not going to happen … the arrest I mean. The military is as cowed as the rest of the U.S. society.

Denmark is a founder member of NATO (joined 1949), so any country invading Danish territory would have to be confronted by other NATO members. The complications that this would cause in itself would be a deterrent for Trump to do this, but if the American military were faced with this dilemma, surely the generals who already have built relationships with other generals in other NATO countries over the years, would not suddenly forget that relationship and carry out Trump's bidding, without complaint or dissent. This would be a test of Trump's power too far.

 

[dann]

It’s not going to happen … the arrest I mean. The military is as cowed as the rest of the U.S. society.

I don't know about cowed, but otherwise, yeah.
It's not as if the U.S. didn't engage in unprovoked attacks on other countries before Trump. It's not exactly something unheard of before he came up with the idea.

 

[dann]

Denmark is a founder member of NATO (joined 1949), so any country invading Danish territory would have to be confronted by other NATO members. The complications that this would cause in itself would be a deterrent for Trump to do this, but if the American military were faced with this dilemma, surely the generals who already have built relationships with other generals in other NATO countries over the years, would not suddenly forget that relationship and carry out Trump's bidding, without complaint or dissent. This would be a test of Trump's power too far.

You're kidding, right?!
I'm not sure if you are trying to Poe us with this relationships, international obligations, law & order, alliances and deterrents schtick, as if any of all that still counts.
Leading the attack on Greenland would get you promoted. Refusing would get you dishonorably discharged and probably court-martialed for treason.

 

[The Don]

Denmark is a founder member of NATO (joined 1949), so any country invading Danish territory would have to be confronted by other NATO members. The complications that this would cause in itself would be a deterrent for Trump to do this, but if the American military were faced with this dilemma, surely the generals who already have built relationships with other generals in other NATO countries over the years, would not suddenly forget that relationship and carry out Trump's bidding, without complaint or dissent. This would be a test of Trump's power too far.

They are honourable and dedicated military leaders, they will do their utmost to follow the orders of the Commander in Chief regardless of their personal views on the matter.

If the CiC says the territory of a NATO ally needs to be "protected" then that's what they'll do. To do anything else would be mutiny and presumably punishable by death.

This is the same as the other police and security personnel who are enforcing DOGE's access to buildings and computer systems and the masked ICE teams snatching people off the streets and bundling them into vans.

 

[dann]

Gulf of Tonkin incident (Wiikipedia)
The Gulf of Tonkin incident (Vietnamese: Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It consisted of a confrontation on 2 August 1964, when United States forces were carrying out covert amphibious operations close to North Vietnamese territorial waters, which triggered a response from North Vietnamese forces. The United States government falsely claimed that a second incident occurred on 4 August, between North Vietnamese and United States ships in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Originally, US military claims blamed North Vietnam for the confrontation and the ostensible, but in fact imaginary, incident on 4 August. Later investigation revealed that the second attack never happened. The National Security Agency, an agency of the US Defense Department, had deliberately skewed intelligence to create the impression that an attack had been carried out.

But that was such a long time ago.
Most of us remember Bush Jr.'s 'WMAs':

Weapons of mass destruction: Evolution of its use (Wikipedia)
After the 11 September 2001 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, an increased fear of nonconventional weapons and asymmetric warfare took hold in many countries. The fear reached a crescendo with the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis and the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that became the primary justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq; however, American forces found none in Iraq. They found old stockpiles of chemical munitions including sarin and mustard agents, but all were considered to be unusable because of corrosion or degradation.

In between those two wars, there was this one:

United States invasion of Grenada: Reaction in the United States (Wikipedia)
I mentioned the U.S. invasion of Grenada recently, but it may not have been in this context:
Medical students in Grenada, speaking to Ted Koppel on the 25 October 1983 edition of his newscast Nightline, stated that they were safe and did not feel their lives were in peril.The next evening, medical students told Koppel how grateful they were for the Army Rangers and the invasion which probably saved their lives. State Department officials had assured the students they would be able to complete their medical school education in the United States
An anti-war march attended by over 50,000 people, including Burlington, Vermont Mayor Bernie Sanders, was held in Washington, D.C. The march received support from presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.

Clint Eastwood made a (bloody awful) film about that one. I don't think Bernie is in it, but if he had been, he would have been the unpatriotic commie traitor.
And since Americans tend to learn history from fiction, Heartbreak Ridge is probably what most Americans 'remember' about that particular war.

ETA: It is not as if the USA was the country that invented this kind of excuse. This one is famous:

1 September 1939 Reichstag speech (Wikipedia)
This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our territory. Since 5:45 a.m. we have been returning the fire, and from now on bombs will be met by bombs.

And speaking of ....

The London Economic on X, Mar 22, 2025:
These satirical posters, created by Grow Up Art as part of a series called 'The Turd Reich', appeared in London this week.
Brilliant stuff

 

[Explorer]

They are honourable and dedicated military leaders, they will do their utmost to follow the orders of the Commander in Chief regardless of their personal views on the matter.

If the CiC says the territory of a NATO ally needs to be "protected" then that's what they'll do. To do anything else would be mutiny and presumably punishable by death.

This is the same as the other police and security personnel who are enforcing DOGE's access to buildings and computer systems and the masked ICE teams snatching people off the streets and bundling them into vans.

Of course they are, but this would be an entirely unique situation. Consider this, American soldiers fighting directly against previously allied soldiers before Trump. It doesn't matter that the CIC states everything as a "protection" device, what matters is whether or not the rest of NATO members view it in the same way. There is not a chance that this would be the case. As I said, it would be an extreme dilemma for American military chiefs to face, and so perhaps it might be prevented by them before such an event occurs, especially when non-violent ways of achieving goals can be deployed.

 

[The Don]

Of course they are, but this would be an entirely unique situation. Consider this, American soldiers fighting directly against previously allied soldiers before Trump. It doesn't matter that the CIC states everything as a "protection" device, what matters is whether or not the rest of NATO members view it in the same way. There is not a chance that this would be the case. As I said, it would be an extreme dilemma for American military chiefs to face, and so perhaps it might be prevented by them before such an event occurs, especially when non-violent ways of achieving goals can be deployed.

Trump has installed his own creatures at the top of the chain of command. If there are officers who have qualms, they can be swiftly and easily replaced by those without.

 

[Andy_Ross]

If NATO decided to intervene against US a US invasion of Greenland, there's an awful lot of US servicemen and equipment in Europe that would be in a difficult situation.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

During my formative years, I was influenced by a folk/protest singer named Phil Ochs. Too many moving and inspirational songs to list, but this one, about Marines landing in Santo Domingo, sprung to mind when others were listing the various U.S. incursions into foreign countries.


We lost Phil Ochs way too soon - we could have used his voice now.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Maybe Greenland could invade Washington at the same time. Would not take too many to storm the Capitol or White House successfully. The US marines would hold a bunch of snow-blown Arctic gravel to ransom. The Inuit would hold Congress or Trump to ransom. Someone would have a distinct advantage.

 

[dann]

During my formative years, I was influenced by a folk/protest singer named Phil Ochs. Too many moving and inspirational songs to list, but this one, about Marines landing in Santo Domingo, sprung to mind when others were listing the various U.S. incursions into foreign countries.
We lost Phil Ochs way too soon - we could have used his voice now.

Interesting. I don't remember ever hearing his name or his songs even though American protest songs were popular in Denmark in the 1960s and '70s.
I am not sure that this particular song does justice to its theme:

Military Government of Santo Domingo (Wikipedia)
According to Lorgia García Peña, the occupation resulted in increased inequality in the Dominican Republic and contributed to the establishment of an economic and political system that benefits rich companies, while subjecting most Dominicans to poverty. American support for future dictator Rafael Trujillo, who rose through the ranks of the National Guard with the help of the U.S. Marines, was instrumental for establishing his base of support within the Dominican armed forces.
The Dominican Campaign Medal was an authorized U.S. service medal for those military members who had participated in the conflict.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Svalbard can contribute 3000 people and 3000 polar bears. The population of Iceland can occupy the square in front of the Capitol doing the fearsome Viking clap.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

Interesting. I don't remember ever hearing his name or his songs even though American protest songs were popular in Denmark in the 1960s and '70s.

Let me HIGHLY recommend a “Best of…” compilation of his iconic works “There But For Fortune”, published in 1989, well after his untimely suicide death in 1976.

Seriously, give it a listen. I think it captures much of the turmoil of the 1960’s, along with a couple of touching ballads. Good stuff.