Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned Sunday that any U.S. move to seize Greenland by force would shatter the NATO alliance and pit Washington against its closest allies.
Murphy Warns NATO Could Collapse Over Greenland
“It would be the end of NATO,” Murphy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” when host Kristen Welker asked what such a move would mean.
The Connecticut Democrat, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said a U.S. attack on Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark that is a NATO member, would trigger the alliance’s mutual-defense clause, obligating other members to defend it. That could put the United States at odds with longtime partners such as the United Kingdom and France, he said.
Murphy’s warning comes as President Donald Trump has again shown interest in acquiring Greenland, arguing the Arctic island is essential to US national security and citing concerns about Russian and Chinese activity in the region. The United States has operated what is now Pituffik Space Base, a key missile-warning and space-surveillance site in northwest Greenland, since 1943 under a defense agreement with Denmark.
White House Keeps Military Option On Table
The White House has not ruled out using force to take control of the mineral-rich territory. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that “utilizing the US military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” while emphasizing that diplomacy is the administration’s preferred path. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has also declined to categorically rule out force, plans to meet Danish officials this week to discuss US aims in Greenland.
Earlier Sunday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), who is Trump’s envoy to Greenland, wrote on X that the president’s push to acquire the island should be met with “hospitality, not hostility.”
European Leaders Insist Greenland Belongs To Its People
Officials in Greenland, Denmark and across Europe have repeatedly rejected any annexation. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and party leaders said on Friday that the island’s future “must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has issued her own stark warning, telling Danish broadcaster TV2 last Monday that “if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything stops,” a description similar to Murphy’s “end of NATO” scenario and reinforced by a joint declaration from European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, that “Greenland belongs to its people.”
Photo Courtesy: viewimage on Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments