President Trumpâs effort to âtakeâ Greenland against the wishes of its citizens and the government of Denmark is an incredibly reckless move. Such an action would be wrong legally, strategically, militarily, and economically.
Greenland and Denmark are allies of the United States. There is no legal justification to seize or invade an ally in peacetime without provocation or emergency. The United States already maintains a military presence in Greenland, and every objective the President claims to want â defense access or resource development â could be achieved through diplomacy.
Strategically, a hostile action would violate NATO obligations and trigger Article 5, destroy decades of cooperation and hand Putin a major victory.
Militarily, ordering U.S. troops to act against a NATO ally would be unlawful. Service members may refuse such illegal orders rather than fire on an ally.
Economically, conflict with Greenland would provoke severe EU retaliation and destabilize the U.S. economy.
Congress should finally rouse itself and act to prevent this.
Michael Spragins
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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