A group of senior former US diplomats and officials have issued an open letter criticizing Donald Trump's current rhetoric regarding Greenland and Denmark, according to local and international media.
The diplomats, including former NATO ambassadors and former White House security advisers, wrote: “The current president’s threats to use military force or other forms of coercion to seize Greenland from our ally Denmark are strategic folly in both the short and long term.” Read more after the announcement.
According to former officials and diplomats, these threats would destroy the 76-year-old NATO alliance and turn one of the United States' strongest supporters in Europe against the United States, specifically Denmark.
The diplomats also presented in their speech a long list of actions taken by the Danish side that have benefited the United States since World War II.
How did Denmark support the United States of America?
- Denmark was one of the 12 founding countries that signed the NATO treaty in 1949, and it brought Greenland into the alliance.
- Denmark provided medical care to wounded American soldiers who were fighting in the Korean War, and carried out medical evacuations from the battlefield for seriously wounded soldiers.
- Denmark has been involved in building a NATO partnership with former Soviet Union countries since the end of the Cold War, including training Central Asian military forces for use in peacekeeping operations.
- Denmark contributed to NATO air strikes against Serbia after the collapse of Yugoslavia, and deployed combat troops as part of NATO peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and later in Kosovo.
- Denmark was one of the first allies to support the first – and only – activation of Article 5, “An attack on one is an attack on all” in the NATO treaty immediately after the events of September 11, 2001.
- Denmark participated in the US-led military operation in Afghanistan, including the unreserved deployment of troops to the most difficult areas such as Helmand province, and suffered significant losses and damage, with a higher number of troop deaths than any other country except the United States.
- Denmark participated in the US-led military operation in Iraq, providing ground troops and training expertise without any restrictions on the use of its forces.
- Denmark has participated in efforts against ISIS in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
- Denmark participated in the NATO airstrikes in Libya.
- Denmark participated in all NATO anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, and led the naval forces.
- Denmark participated in the removal of all declared chemical weapons from Syria, undertaking a key task that US forces could not legally perform.
- Denmark has pharmaceutical companies that provide vaccines not currently produced in the United States to protect the American people from emerging disease threats.
- Denmark has worked extensively with the United States bilaterally, within NATO, and in the Arctic Council to counter harmful Russian and Chinese activities in the Arctic, including with forces based in Greenland.
- Denmark provides ongoing support to Ukraine and is the leading supplier of F-16 fighter jets. As a percentage of GDP, Denmark is the largest contributor of aid to Ukraine worldwide, surpassing the United States and other major countries.
- Denmark cooperates extensively with several U.S. federal agencies to combat violent threats to the homeland, including threats from government actors and terrorists.
- Denmark was one of the first NATO countries to recognize the importance of discussing China within the alliance, and strongly supported all US efforts to deepen NATO relations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Source: An open letter from former senior diplomats.
Danish and Greenlandic ministers are expected to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week, at Denmark's request, to discuss the Greenland issue. No details regarding the date and details of the meeting have yet been announced.
