A Republican lawmaker's warning about an intervention in Greenland: It would spell the end of NATO
Michael McCaul. Photo credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Profimedia
Republican congressman Michael McCaul, representative of the state of Texas in the House of Representatives, expressed his skepticism about the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to annex Greenland, writes the BBC.
“If we want to send more military troops there, we can do that, we don't have to invade the territory,” he told ABC This Week. “If you want to buy it, ok, but I don't see any sellers willing to sell at the moment.”
Republican Michael McCaul, who served as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also issued a stark warning against any US military action in Greenland.
“A military invasion by him [Trump] would turn NATO Article 5 upside down. And it would essentially put us at war with NATO itself,” McCaul explained.
“It would lead to the dissolution of the Alliance [NATO] as we know it,” the Texas lawmaker emphasized.
Article 5 of the NATO founding treaty is one of the basic principles of the North Atlantic Alliance, namely collective defense. It states that an attack against one or more NATO members will be considered an attack against all.
“The End of the International Order.” Why Trump's Aggressive Greenland Strategy Raises Fears of NATO's Death
Donald Trump on Saturday threatened several European countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland – to impose additional tariffs on them until “an agreement for the full and complete sale of Greenland” is reached. This surcharge, of 10%, will become effective from February 1 and could reach 25% on June 1, he said.
