WASHINGTON — Democratic senators warned Sunday that a US invasion of Greenland would mean the “end of NATO” — and that America would be at war with Europe.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that NATO would be forced to step in if the US annexed the Danish territory, which could topple the powerful military alliance and potentially put America in a clash with Europe.
“I mean, NATO would have an obligation to defend Greenland. And so query whether we would be at war with Europe, with England, with France,” Murphy warned on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, echoed Murphy’s concerns Sunday, saying that an annexation of Greenland would be a death knell for the NATO alliance — despite acknowledging the strategic benefits.
“Greenland is extraordinarily strategic. And we have a treaty with Denmark that gives us a right to virtually do anything we want in Greenland,” Warner told “Fox News Sunday.”
“If he were to take an action against Greenland, that would completely destroy NATO.”
President Trump, who has set his sights on Greenland for years, re-upped his threat to acquire the icy island last week — regardless of whether the Danes like it or not.
“We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump told reporters.
“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way. And I am a fan of Denmark,” the president continued.
“But the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land.”
Top Trump administration officials have declined to rule out the use of military force, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Tuesday it “is always an option.”
The possibility has rattled Europe in the wake of Trump greenlighting Operation Absolute Resolve, in which Delta Forces ripped into Venezuela and captured dictator Nicolas Maduro in the wee morning hours of Jan. 3.
Multiple Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), have also raised concerns about the US taking Greenland by force — with Kennedy quipping that it would be “weapons-grade stupid.”
Some lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing for a war powers resolution to stop Trump from deploying the military to capture Greenland.
