Former ambassador to Denmark: NATO would be compelled to respond to Greenland invasion

Rufus Gifford, a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, said in a Sunday interview that the NATO alliance would be compelled to respond to any invasion or incursion into Greenland.

“I think the point that’s forgotten here far too often is that Greenland is NATO because Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmark, is one of the founding members of NATO,” Gifford said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”

“So all this talk about national security concerns vis-à-vis Greenland,” he continued, “if there was any sort of invasion or incursion into Greenland, the entire alliance would be compelled to respond.”

Gifford’s comments came in response to Vice President-elect JD Vance’s remarks about Greenland on “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, when the incoming vice president said “we don't have to use military force” because “we already have troops in Greenland.”

^{Nuuk capital of Greenland with small, colorful houses in Myggedalen; Sermitsiaq Mountain in background. (Adobe Stock)}

“Greenland is really important for America strategically,” Vance continued in the Sunday interview. “It has a lot of great natural resources. We also need to make sure that Greenland is properly cared for from an American security perspective, and frankly, the current leadership, the Danish government has not done a good enough job of securing Greenland.”

Trump has previously said that U.S. control of Greenland, an autonomous island within the Kingdom of Denmark, is “an absolute necessity” and has made the case that the island is important for U.S. national security.

Last week, he also declined to rule out using military force in his efforts to acquire Greenland, saying when asked, “I’m not going to commit to that. It might be that you have to do something.”

Gifford criticized the way Trump and Vance have discussed the issue, saying they lack “the sort of diplomatic humanity that needs to exist in these relationships.”

“Look, Denmark is one of our longest allies, has … lost more troops per capita in Afghanistan than any other country in the world, other than the United States of America. And … when your foreign policy is dictated by tweet and press conference, you just lose that sense of humanity, that centuries-old humanity that we really do need to focus on here."

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