Danish military commanders issued live ammunition to soldiers deploying to Greenland last week, preparing for a scenario once considered unthinkable: defending NATO territory against another NATO member.
The extraordinary orders, revealed Wednesday by Danish broadcaster DR, instructed the Defense Ministry to "as quickly as possible strengthen the ability to execute the defense plan for Greenland." The operation, designated "Arctic Endurance," involved systematically transporting personnel and combat-ready equipment from Denmark to the Arctic territory.
The preparations came as President Trump refused to rule out using military force to acquire Greenland, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark with 56,000 residents and immense strategic value.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. Greenland has anchored Arctic strategy since the Cold War, when American early-warning radar installations at Thule Air Base monitored Soviet bomber routes. But Trump's interest extends beyond military positioning to the island's mineral wealth, rare earth deposits, and freshwater reserves that climate change is making increasingly accessible.
Danish political consensus across party lines supported defending Greenland if attacked, despite acknowledging Denmark could not militarily match American power. The calculation involved deterrence through political cost rather than military victory.
"We prepared for a scenario we considered unlikely but could not ignore," one senior Danish official told DR on condition of anonymity. "The orders were: defend Greenland. Not because we would win, but because we must establish the principle that NATO members do not seize each other's territory."
The crisis atmosphere dissipated Wednesday when Trump, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, declared: "I am not forced to use power. I do not want to use power. I will not use power."
Yet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen immediately traveled to London for emergency consultations with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suggesting European leaders consider the political sovereignty crisis far from resolved.
Greenland itself, whose government was excluded from initial Trump-Denmark communications, issued its own statement. "Greenland belongs to Greenlanders," Premier Mute Egede said. "We are not for sale, and we are not a bargaining chip."
The territory's strategic importance has grown exponentially with climate change. Arctic ice retreat has opened new shipping routes and made previously inaccessible mineral deposits economically viable. Greenland sits atop substantial reserves of rare earth elements, currently dominated by Chinese production, that are essential for defense electronics and renewable energy technology.
American freshwater concerns also drive interest. Greenland's ice sheet contains approximately 8% of the world's freshwater reserves. As water scarcity intensifies globally, control of such resources carries obvious strategic implications.
The episode revealed fault lines in the Atlantic alliance unprecedented since its 1949 founding. NATO's foundational principle holds that an attack on one member constitutes an attack on all. The treaty contains no provisions for territorial disputes between members, because such scenarios were considered inconceivable.
Danish defense expert Sten Rynning argued that while immediate military crisis has passed, the political challenge remains. "Trump has established that Greenland's status is negotiable," he told DR. "That changes everything about Denmark's Arctic position."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attempted diplomatic repair, announcing discussions about enhancing Allied Arctic security presence through "collective arrangements." Whether such arrangements satisfy American demands for increased access while preserving Danish sovereignty remains unclear.
Historical attempts at Greenland acquisition proved instructive. The United States offered to purchase the territory in 1946 for $100 million, which Denmark declined. The 1951 defense treaty granted America extensive basing rights at Thule without requiring sovereignty transfer, establishing a model that balanced American security interests with Danish territorial integrity.
Whether the current administration accepts similar arrangements or continues pressing sovereignty claims will define Arctic security architecture for decades. The presence of live ammunition in Danish supply depots in Greenland suggests Copenhagen is preparing for all scenarios.
The Arctic ice melts, but the freeze in NATO-on-NATO relations may prove harder to thaw.
