NATO studies a major deployment in the Arctic to appease Donald Trump

The European strategy involves, above all, seek an internal reaction in the United States, focused on Congress American, in the Democrats and partly in the Republicans. And for that, European capitals understand, it must be made clear that the official reasons that Donald Trump argues are false. For this Europeans must reinforce their military presence in the Arctic region and especially Greenland. NATO is already preparing these plans.

Several European governments have put NATO to work on a series of ideas to increase its Arctic military presence. The ambassadors to the Atlantic Alliance met last Thursday and none of them objected to the idea of ​​reinforcing the northern front as long as troops were not withdrawn from current missions. in eastern Europe, that guarantee the eastern flank before Russia.

At the meeting, as he told Clarion a diplomat from a Scandinavian country, several options were considered, which can be taken independently or combined. It would be about move heavy military material to bases in the region (the Danish islands of Faroe and Greenland, as well as the Keflavik air base in Iceland), increase the air surveillance missions that are already carried out precisely from Iceland and also carry out more joint military maneuvers in the region.

It is basically about showing the United States that the argument that the Europeans cannot guarantee the security of Greenland in the face of alleged ideas of Russian and Chinese control is false, so that the US Congress stops Donald Trump and so that some senior officials in the US Administration begin to have doubts.

European diplomatic sources even talk about the possibility that there American military so upset with an eventual military aggression against an allied country that resignations of senior military officials begin.

Europe did not take Trump’s threat on Greenland very seriously, at least not publicly. until after the US military operation in Venezuela. From that moment on, many diplomats began to recognize that Trump does what he says What is he going to do if no one is willing to stop him? That is why NATO must serve to provoke that reaction in Washington against Trump’s plans.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said from Zagreb that “Allies are discussing the next step to practically follow up and collectively protect what is at stake.” And a German spokesman confirmed the discussions in NATO “to reinforce” Arctic security.

The next steps must be taken in less than two weeks. Military and civilian personnel designing operations should present ambassadors with a series of ideas for them to consult with their governments. But they will all focus on the idea of ​​showing in Washington that Europeans are capable of guaranteeing the security of Greenland, even if the only threat they detect right now is precisely American.

These plans can be combined with the idea promoted by some governments, especially the largest in the bloc, of moving troops to Greenland if Denmark requests it in order to have a permanent force on the Arctic island that will dissuade the United States from a military adventure because this would not be at zero cost and should confront soldiers who until yesterday were his allies.