Former US general doesn’t believe in invasion

//

Lerato Khumalo

Debate about Greenland

Ex-US general: Military would refuse Trump’s orders


01/12/2025 – 9:29 p.mReading time: 2 minutes

Enlarge the image

Former US General Ben Hodges: He does not believe that the US military would invade Greenland on Donald Trump’s orders. (Source: IMAGO/Photo Olimpik)

Would the US military invade Greenland? No, believes a former general – and explains the reasons for his suspicion.

Former US general Ben Hodges does not believe that the US military would invade Greenland on Donald Trump’s orders to annex the Arctic island.

“I would be very surprised if US officers did that,” Hodges told the Bild newspaper. For him, a possible directive from Trump to invade Greenland sounds like an “illegal order to launch an unprovoked attack on NATO allies.” He considers this to be “unfeasible” and “unlikely”.

In general, Hodges doesn’t approve of Trump’s idea of ​​making Greenland a US state. “It’s appalling when a US president-elect speaks like that about the territory of a NATO ally,” he says. Such thoughts would damage the cohesion of the military alliance. “None of this is helpful because the Russians and the Chinese will very quickly use it to justify what they are doing.”

Furthermore, a possible invasion of Greenland would make no sense. “Thanks to Denmark, we already have a base in Greenland,” explains Hodges. Instead of expressing imperialist fantasies, the US President-elect should rely on the solidarity of the NATO states. “If Trump is concerned about security in the North Atlantic, he should ask our allies to expand their maritime capabilities and ask Denmark to do more on defense,” Hodges said.

Greenland is largely autonomous, but officially belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark. The largest island in the world receives strong financial support from Copenhagen, and the Danish government also largely decides on foreign and security issues in the so-called Imperial Community. Many Greenlanders have long wanted an independent state – an issue that also plays a major role in the election campaign ahead of a parliamentary election in Greenland this spring.