The French president is moving troops there, but would he dare use them against the US?<\/p>\n
French land, sea, and air forces are heading for Greenland to rebuff threats of annexation by the US. Emmanuel Macron has vowed to \u201cstand alongside\u201d the Danish dependency, but that promise could end in humiliation for the French president.\u00a0
\nWhat did Macron say?
\nIn an address to the country\u2019s armed forces on Thursday, Macron said that \u201ca first team of French military personnel is already on site\u201d in Greenland, \u201cand will be reinforced in the coming days by land, air and maritime assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Denmark to deploy more troops to Greenland \u2013 media<\/p>\n
These reinforcements will join British, German, Norwegian, and Swedish forces already en route to Greenland to take part in a Danish-led \u2018Arctic Endurance\u2019 military exercise.
\n\u201cFrance must be available in the face of threats, adapt to them, and stand alongside a sovereign state to protect its territory,\u201d Macron said, adding that Greenland \u201cbelongs to the European Union.\u201d
\nHow many troops is he sending?
\nMacron didn\u2019t say how many troops, vehicles, or pieces of military equipment he would deploy to Greenland. However, France\u2019s ambassador to Poland said on Wednesday that the \u201cfirst team\u201d of French soldiers already in place in Nuuk numbers only 15 soldiers.
\nMacron\u2019s European coalition members have sent equally paltry numbers; 13 German reconnaissance specialists, three Swedish officers, one British, and one Norwegian, according to Reuters.
\nNo European nation \u2013 including France \u2013 seems willing to commit the forces necessary to deter the might of the US military. Even combined with the contingent of Danish troops who arrived overnight by C-130 transport aircraft, the Europeans are outnumbered by the 150 or so American troops already stationed at Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland.
\nIs Macron willing to fight the US?<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
The EU will cheer America\u2019s every land grab, even to its own detriment<\/p>\n
In Macron\u2019s own words: maybe. After US President Donald Trump said last week that he\u2019d seize Greenland \u201cthe hard way\u201d if talks with Denmark fell through, the French leader declared that this would have \u201cunprecedented\u201d consequences. While he has not openly threatened to resist a potential US takeover with military force, he said on Thursday that France \u201cwill align its action in full solidarity with Denmark and its sovereignty.\u201d
\nTo date, Macron has proven more than willing to use \u2013 or threaten to use \u2013 military force abroad.
\nFrance waged a decade-long campaign against jihadists in its former African colonies which ended in a humiliating retreat from the region over the last three years. Macron was also among the first European leaders to give Ukraine tanks and cruise missiles for use against Russia, and last week committed to deploying \u201cseveral thousand\u201d troops to Ukraine if a peace deal with Russia is reached.
\nHow is Greenland different?
\nMacron\u2019s military adventures in Africa didn\u2019t threaten US interests. His threats against Russia were issued with the full support of Joe Biden, and later with the tacit backing of Trump. This time around, and with American guns pointed at Greenland, nobody believes him.
\n\u201cOoh, what will they do?!\u201d former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev teased on Wednesday. \u201cKidnap POTUS? Nuke the US? Course not. They\u2019ll just sh*t their pants and give up Greenland. And that would be a great European precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the EU seems to be preparing the ground for surrender. While Macron declared that Greenland \u201cbelongs to the European Union,\u201d officials in Brussels have sent mixed messages as to whether the island is covered by the EU Treaty\u2019s mutual defense clause. Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has said that it is \u201cdefinitely\u201d covered, while commission President Ursula von der Leyen has refused to comment on the issue.
\nMacron and his fellow Europeans \u201ccan threaten, they can throw tantrums and make all the statements they want,\u201d American journalist John Varoli told RT, \u201cbut Washington will always get its way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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