NATO faces a tough challenge
US President Donald Trump’s over ambitious plans to seize control of Greenland is raising huge political storms with various countries even sensing it as an end of the 12 nation alliance, NATO.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize control of Greenland as he sees emergence of China and Russia as two potential powers that can intervene in the Danish realm and take advantage of Greenland’s territory.
However, post US President’s open admission of taking over Greenland, tensions have spiked among some of NATO’s members, notably between neighbours Greece and Turkey.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous island that is part of the Danish territory. Danish leadership has warned that if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops … including the NATO.
Importantly, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by 12 nations in 1949 to counter the security threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. NATO’s deterrence works through a strong American troop presence in Europe, with US nuclear weapons stationed there.
Its ranks have grown since the founding Washington Treaty was signed to 32 countries after Sweden joined in 2024, worried by an increasingly aggressive Russia. Indeed, NATO officially considers its biggest threats to be Russia and international terrorism.
Interestingly, NATO is built on the principle that an attack on any one of its ranks must be considered an attack on them all — the collective security guarantee enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty. The organization’s credibility depends on adversaries believing that all 32 allies will make good on that pledge.
It’s a political commitment and not a legal obligation that can be enforced by any court. The only time it has ever been activated was in 2001, to support the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Political observers feel that a US attack is almost certain to divide NATO. This happened earlier as well when the United States led an attack on Iraq in 2003, with Britain and Spain backing while France and Germany led a group of others who vehemently opposed the move.
However, given the present world order, the United States is presently positioned as NATO’s most powerful member. In real terms, it spends much more on defense than any other ally and far outweighs its partners in terms of military muscle. Washington has traditionally driven the agenda but has stepped back under Trump.
NATO is weaker without US leadership, troops, equipment or other military assets. It’s almost inconceivable that any ally would go to war with it, let alone hope to win.
Day-to-day work at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters is led by former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. However, NATO’s military headquarters are based in Mons, Belgium. It is always run by a top American officer.
Though several NATO allies are harping on the fact that the US should remain committed to NATO, but that seems highly unlikely and any aggressive move by Washington can create a deep split in the alliance and will cast dark clouds on its future as well.
