US President Donald Trump’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3 has emboldened him to proceed with the annexation of Greenland, a Danish-owned, self-governed territory, spelling the effective end of NATO and furthering Russia’s war aims in Ukraine, experts tell Al Jazeera.

“The move on Venezuela illustrates the Trump administration’s determination to dominate the Western Hemisphere – of which Greenland geographically is a part,” said Anna Wieslander, Northern Europe director for the Atlantic Council, a think tank.

“If the United States decides to attack another NATO country, then everything would stop – that includes NATO and therefore post-World War II security,” Frederiksen said.

“The pandering to Trump has been an element of our strategy over the last year, leaving observers hoping, but not entirely trusting, that another element of the strategy is preparing urgently for the final rupture with the United States,” Giles said.

Giles told Al Jazeera that Europe’s best option was to place a military deterrent on Greenland now, believing that putting allied troops in the Baltic States and Poland after 2017 deterred a Russian attack there.

  • TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

    Some countries in Europe are starting to, and given what Europe is, that’s probably the best they can start doing.

    At least because they made sure to show us their hand at their latest sonic weapons and information warfare used to shut down weapons that was used in the Venezuela attack. They would probably go the same route with Europe, trying to behead whatever strategic target is going to get them what they want, because they can’t go for a prolonged conflict either.

  • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    If it really happens, shut down all the US military installations in Europe and European territories. The Red Coats should tell the US to leave Diego Garcia too.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      They can’t even shut down the base in Greenland. There’s a reason DeGaulle kicked the US out in 1966. And why Okinawa residents have been lobbying to shut down the local base for decades.

      Europeans have been under military occupation since the end of WW2, telling themselves the gun pointed at the back of their heads was aimed at the USSR, even after it dissolved.

      Now they’re going to have to deal with a foreign hostile occupation whose roots have grown deep

  • Bullerfar@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    We are seriously in a good position right now in EU believe it or not. Trump has been a wakeup call, and we are already mobilizing faster than - ever? - however, imagine being Canada, australia, Japan, etc. Countries far far away from Europe. If nato dies, Europe makes a new defense alliance, focussing on having troops on the, continent. Canada and australia needs to come closer to Europe. Trade wise, militiary wise, political, if they don’t wanna get sucked up in the strongest superpower nearby, even if they have anything in common or not.

    • ryanpdg1@lemmy.ca
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      We’re trying to come closer in all those ways. The “don’t buy US made products” has spread everywhere and I hear it’s starting to make an impact.

      I’m worried about our southern neighbours… I see the news and it feels like they might have a civil war on their hands.

      • Bullerfar@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        Yeah, its fucking disgusting what usa has become. But we now know how they “stand” it would be a killing blow for canada if usa got greenland. I say let canada control the north atlantic, militiary wise, in a cooperation with EU. (Since Greenland doesn’t have a militiary. They will rely heavily on such an alliance)

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      7 days ago

      They’re not experts they’re just some random think tank milane actors with a political goal which means they’re just arrogant people who like telling everybody else what to do largely with zero qualifications.

  • Nomecks@lemmy.ca
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    Canada has the world’s longest undefended border with the US. There’s no hope if the US invades. It would be like Russia invading Ukraine with no mountains in the way

    • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      This would be impossible to hold we would lose it the second we stopped dumping hundreds of billions per year and would never own anywhere but islands of fascism where our troops were concentrated.

      We would suffer continuous losses and the whole world except Russia and China would turn against us.

      We would probably suffer economic collapse as other countries dropped dollars and exchange rates shifted against us while war creates a need for tax money which can only be raised by taxes which are unpopular or tariffs which further destroy trade.

      If Congress doesn’t get behind attacking Canada Trump could only fund it by misappropriating money or raising tariffs.

      Ultimately we lose Canada and end up in the next great depression

  • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
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    8 days ago

    What experrs? American experts?

    They’re kind of forgetting the big elephant in the room that is the fact a lot of US foreign debt is owned by Japan and China, with the majority of the rest of it being held by countries that will be very very pissed off with this move.

    If trump is stupid enough to pull the trigger, and those countries decide that a potential physical war is becoming inevitable, they’ll for sure dump all of that debt, all at once; killing the US economy and it’s ability to make war. War needs fuel. Despite Venzuela, Trump won’t have enough of it once his economy tanks.

    • CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml
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      7 days ago

      Money would be a problem but not the worst problem, all of manufacturing and materials come from China and the remaining single digit percent is in Europe, if the US pisses both they wont be able to manufacture war even if they haf all of the money

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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      Yeah I think the ordering on that is China, Japan, UK, Canada in terms of the countries that hold US bonds.

      A diplomatic delegation came to Canada recently and then Mark Carney went to China. Maybe just coincidence, or maybe not.

      Tanking the bonds is essentially the economic equivalent of a nuke. You don’t want to use it because there will be fallout which isn’t good for anyone. But the US actually using military force on Greenland would be a circumstance where you might push the button on that. China has some business interests in Greenland, and generally the US just invading places based solely on the whims of a deranged old man is worse for everyone than the economic fallout from tanking the bonds.

    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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      8 days ago

      If there’s a war, and the US is cut off due to international sanctions, they’ll have to ship the oil all the way north, by ship, rail, or road, all of which would be VERY susceptible to attacks and sabotage.

      • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
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        7 days ago

        We have more oil than we need already in the US.

        We don’t have rare earth or battery materials manufacturing/extraction anywhere near the scale needed for a real war though.

        But also Trump and Hegseth are fucking morons who’s wouldn’t smell a strategy if it took a shit on their faces.

        • harmbugler@piefed.social
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          7 days ago

          And if it comes to strategic dumping of US bonds, on one side you have Mark Carney, a former central bank governor, and on the other Donald Trump, who played a successful businessman on television.

      • scathliath@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        8 days ago

        And if by ship, they’re likely going to be straining the Navy between ports. Be a shame if something breaks too as we have less dock space available for repair than we did when we laid those keels.

        • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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          He’s also talking about operations in several other countries, and if he’s talking about a few, he’s thinking about a bunch more. He doesn’t seem to understand that it’s not a good idea to spread your forces and resources over multiple battlefronts.

          He seems to think that the military is infinite, that he can just throw money at it and it can do anything. He’s talking about a $1.5 TRILLION military budget (who is paying for that?), and he’s going to need a LOT more personnel. That means at some point, he is going to demand a draft, especially if unemployment gets too high. It is already at its highest point since 2020.

          America First used to mean we stay out of everywhere else, and concentrate on America, but Trump’s version means America gets first dibs on everything, and if you don’t want to play that game, we’ll just take what we want.

    • edible_funk@sh.itjust.works
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      What if I told you that was literally part of the plan? The groundwork for looking the USD was already in project 2025 and the dark enlightenment bullshit the tech feudalists masturbate to requires the balkanization of the US, and pulling a smash and grab on the USD will get us there within ten years. And if Trump makes it to next January they can kill him and we get ten years of “legitimate” Vance and by then it’s well and truly over.

    • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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      they’ll for sure dump all of that debt

      That is a gain for the US, not a loss. No interest payments on the loans they’ve made, and no need to pay off the principal. Great!

      • bufalo1973@piefed.social
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        You are forgetting one thing: no more possibility of selling US debt. And currently the US debt is above 100% GDP.

        • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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          Yes. No new debt sold abroad. But also no need to raise debt to pay off existing debt.

          Also rasing more debt is a future problem. Does this administration care about the long term? No.

      • PixxlMan@lemmy.world
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        The debt doesn’t “go away”, the countries sell it on the market, causing the price of us bonds to drop. That causes the yield (what it costs the us to service the debt) to go up. Borrowing becomes more expensive. Repaying debt or borrowing more to pay interest becomes even more expensive for the us.

          • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
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            7 days ago

            Dumping their bonds into the market isn’t cancelling their debt. Its making all that debt available for OTHERS to buy. Supply goes up, value goes down.

            In other words, if all of the US debt was out up for sale at the same time, is value of the US dollar would crater.

            • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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              Supply is the same unless debt is cancelled. A weaker dollar makes it easier to pay interest.

              "If you owe foreign banks $100, that’s your problem. If you owe foreign banks $100 trillion that’s the foreign bank’s problem.”

              • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.ca
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                7 days ago

                That’s not how markets work.

                But you’re clearly a troll just being intentionally obtuse for shits and giggles. It’s on me for not having realised it earlier.

                Have a good day.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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            7 days ago

            Not cancelling, selling.

            A dollar bill is debt that the govt owes to you. A bond is similar, just a bit different.

            The US will still owe, just to different entities, but its figurative credit score will plummet at the same time it’s in a debt spiral.

            But let’s make it simpler. Most of the world’s USD is not in the US, but in cash reserves abroad. They hold it like gold.

            What happens if the big players sell? It’s already happening a bit, look at EURUSD and gold prices.

            • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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              7 days ago

              Yes. This is Trumps goal. Make foreign goods super expensive for consumers and manufacturers. Exactly what a Tariff does.

              They are isolationists. They don’t want debt held overseas.

              • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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                7 days ago

                This would make all goods more expensive, as it would directly devalue the USD. It wouldn’t make people buy local, it would just make them buy less.

                It’s not what a tariff does, because that only applies to foreign imports.

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      8 days ago

      …and an EU-China alliance, Trump’s nightmare alliance, with China mediating and resolving disputes in northern Eurasia, including the Russia-Ukraine war, likely with mere words.

      He should know that if he blows up NATO, it’s coming.

      US analysts should tell him that this potential alliance would have several times the industrial capacity and scientific potential of the US, and if that doesn’t count, it would also have ~ 1000 nuclear warheads.

      (The alliance would be stable since potential allies would be far from each other, safely separated by a large nuclear armed gas station which also claims alliance with China, but China supplies drone parts to both sides.)

      • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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        China is not some all powerful country, nor is it altruistic.

        The end of Russia’s war in Ukraine is the end of Putin. Do you think Putin will basically kill himself because of a word from China?

        And you’re thinking too small. There is a lot of diplomacy going on between every country in the world. Mark Carney is in China at this very moment. There are other delegations in India. Japan, Korea, and China are working together a little more now, and they hate one another. Everyone is making temporary alliances. It’s shaping up to be US and Russia vs. the world.

        Trump is trading NATO, the most powerful alliance in history, for Russia, a collapsing country.

        • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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          China doesn’t want world domination. It just want to look out for China. However, what it considers China and what everyone else does are very different.

          • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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            China is no different from the US.

            Trump is in power because Americans have been made to think they need a strongman to make the economy work and protect them from the evil foreigners that are trying to screw them over.

            Xi is in power because Chinese have been made to think they need a strongman to make the economy work and protect them from the evil foreigners that are trying to screw them over.

            They are the same.

            I’m in Canada and I see Taiwan as being in a similar situation to us. Trump wants Canada to be part of the US. Xi wants Taiwan to be part of China. The Taiwanese are facing the same struggle as us, and because of that, they are our brothers and sisters.

            Fuck Xi and fuck Trump. They’re no different. We have to make deals with China but we know they’re the same as the US. They’re further away so not an immediate threat to us while the US is. That’s the only difference between them.

        • Aqarius@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          He’s not trading anything. You know that joke:

          • People: We need healthcare!
          • GOP: Fuck off!
          • DNC: Fuck off! #BLM #woke #believewomen #imwithher

          They could’ve taken over Venezuela and said it’s about democracy. The media was poised to make that the story. Europe slid in with “well, he is a dictator…”. They even had a Nobel peace prize recipient ready to jump in and take over. Hell, half the people on here were willing to go along with it. But for MAGA, doing evil isn’t enough anymore, you have to rub it in, you have to gloat about it, you have to be mean. Giving Israel weapons isn’t enough, you have to publicly tell them to kill everyone. It’s not enough to twist other nations’ arms in trade deals, you have to literally extort them. It’s not enough to round up and deport brown people, you need to have camps and cages and then film it and put it on TV, and laugh at them. It’s not enough to ignore protesters, or have them suicided, you have to murder them, and do so openly and proudly.

          Dumping NATO, to Stephen Miller, is not a sacrifice but an unshackling. Now they don’t even need to pretend anything they do is for some greater good, even if they weren’t too crass and stupid to pull it off. They believe they’re in the endgame, and they’re just taking what they want.

          • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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            7 days ago

            Heard this one?

            People: We need healthcare!
            GOP: Fuck off!
            Democrats: Don't vote GOP, you'll be paying more for healthcare, they'll take away people's rights, and we may even lose our democracy
            Leftists: Both sides! #uncommitted
            

            After the election:

            People: We're now paying double for healthcare and there are masked men in the streets disappearing people
            GOP: Fuck off! We're invading countries now!
            Leftist: Both sides! WHY ISN'T CHUCK SCHUMER PREVENTING THIS!!!!
            Democrats: FFS we don't have any power because you didn't vote for us
            

            You’ve already killed the the Democratic party, now you’re just beating on dead corpse becuase you’ll do anything other than oppose the people actually doing the bad things.

            Tell your bullshit about how accelerationism is working to the families of the ~100 people Trump’s special military operation killed in Venezuela. That’s modern leftism for you… killing people in the developing world is somehow good because it helps leftism somehow and it hurts the Democrats (the real enemy!). How are you any different from MAGA at this point?

            • Aqarius@lemmy.world
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              7 days ago

              I’m sorry, you seem to have confused a joke meant to illustrate a point for an invitation to have imaginary conversations with the gaggle of strawmen you have living in your head.

              I’ll leave you to it.

              • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                Yeah MAGAs also do the “I was just joking!” thing when I explain how stupid the things they post are.

                You have more in common with MAGAs than you think.

  • smiletolerantly@awful.systems
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    8 days ago

    Let’s hope the same thing will happen if/when the US tries to take Greenland; but honestly, I’m not optimistic. At least here in Germany, politicians and businesses are so used to licking the US’ boot that I have a hard time imagining a seismic shift. Not to mention that thanks to our dependence on US software, we’re incredibly vulnerable.

    Still. One can hope.

  • observes_depths@aussie.zone
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    8 days ago

    I just want to say it won’t end Nato. Nato countries will stick together, but the USA will be out, alone, isolated, another rouge state just like Russia. That is until Americans grow a spine and either throw Trump out by election, by force, or by crashing the economy.

    • Jankatarch@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Considering this year started 10 days ago, I don’t think we have enough time til the election in 3 years.

      And then they may elect Mr Beast or some other rich dude.

      • prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca
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        7 days ago

        And then they may elect Mr Beast

        I can’t wait for welfare to be replaced by “Survive 30 days in Guantanamo, win $500,000”, and “100 people in Alligator Alcatraz. Last one standing wins $1,000,000”.

      • rayyy@lemmy.world
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        The population of the US is about 342 million. Russia has a population of about 146 million. China has a population of about 1.4 billion. The European Union has a population of about 448 million people. The population of the world is about 8 billion. The orange mobster THINKS it will rule the world?

          • Gonzako@lemmy.world
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            I’m sure we can figure something out if that comes to be. If the people on Brasil made theur own credit cards I’m sure we can make an open source EU alternative

            • observes_depths@aussie.zone
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              5 days ago

              True. Not sure about other countries but Australia has always had EFTPOS. No one really uses it but we could switch in a blink if need be.

        • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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          The thing is that population numbers isn’t everything, it’s also about what that population is doing. A tree has a thousand times the mass of a patch of grass but produces the same photosynthesis or sth.

          That’s because the tree is massive due to its trunk, which is dead weight and doesn’t do much.

  • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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    NATO won’t end, only the US being part of NATO will end.

    In fact if NATO didn’t already exist, something just like it would be formed if the US starts invading countries just because a crazy old man thinks the world map is a colouring book.

    • BoJackHorseman@lemmy.world
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      The crazy old man is a reflection of all Americans. That’s how most Americans see the world. 1 American life is worth 10,000 third world country lives.

      • ThunderWhiskers@lemmy.world
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        Please stop vilifying the entirety of America. There are millions of us that are doing everything we can to organize against this while also feeding our families.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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          Yeah well y’all need to understand there are people in Venezuela and Greenland that are just trying to feed their families.

          If Trump attacks my country I’ll need to be capable of going to war against your country. And that demands considering you to be nothing more than collateral damage if you happen to be in the wrong place at that wrong time. Just like those 100 people he killed in Venezuela.

          If Trump carries out some of the threats he’s making right now, you’ll need to get used to being vilified. The rest of the world may need to burn your country to the ground, and we can’t let feelings get in the way of what must be done to prevent him from destroying our countries.

          You shouldn’t be surprised when people have the same consideration for your life as Americans generally have for the lives in countries you go to war with.

          Don’t spend any more time telling people to not “vilify” Americans, spend more time trying to make it so America is not the villain. We aren’t making you the villains, the actions of your President is making you the villains of the world.

            • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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              Yeah, an innocent American “just tying to feed his family” LOL.

              No one needs to “vilify” you. You’re always ready to be villains with very little prompting.

              • ThunderWhiskers@lemmy.world
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                All I’m seeing is another “fuck you, my needs are the only thing that matter” MAGA-type in your responses. Way to be part of the problem. You’re no different than Trump’s supporters. You just have the benefit of not being born here.

                • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                  You’re country is falling apart and instead of doing something about it, you’re looking for someone else to blame.

                  It isn’t people from other countries that fucked up your country. You’re fucked because Americans were willing to vote in a fascist because you believe the “I’m just trying to feed my family” line of bullshit justifies your raw greed.

                  You’re the wealthiest country in the world, and you voted for Trump (or didn’t vote at all) because you believed it would make you rich. And you sure as hell didn’t want to vote for the black lady. But sure blame the black lady, blame everyone in the world, do everything you have to do to avoid responsibility. American culture is rotten to the core, and you’re incapable of understanding that.

                  You got a pass on a lot of your bullshit when you were an ally to other countries. That’s over now.