Yes, this is the time. Let’s hope they do and let’s face it, if they don’t, they will be a laughing stock. — Punshhh

What is worrisome that NATO's secretary general Marcus Rutte has stayed silent. The guy that called Trump "Daddy". Seems to be an example of the European laughing stock.

The Daily Mail has come out with an interesting article (see Greenland Invasion Plot) which states that after the outstanding success of Maduro operation Miller and Trump have put the JSOC (Special Forces Command) to plan for the invasion of Greenland.

Admiral Bradley, current commander of JSOC got into the limelight earlier with the "doubletap" on Venezuelan boats.


What is encouraging is that the Daily Mail reports this planning is resisted by the joint chiefs of staff as an illegal order. This can be really the outcome: when it comes to the President commanding the military leaders to plan an attack on Greenland and thus a NATO ally, that they will say it's illegal is quite probable. Destroying NATO and attacking an ally without the approval of Congress sounds simply stupid.

Two retired American NATO commanders, general Breedlove and general Hodges were asked in different interviews what would the do if the President would ask to plan an invasion of Greenland. Both answered the same way: they wouldn't do it, because it's an illegal order. Both understood that their action would put them into trouble.

Now this actually might indeed have happened. Trump might already have gotten a cold silence from the military. Yet naturally what really has happened is something that we can verify only from history books. Nobody, both Trump or the Joint Chiefs of Staff, want to make public if this kind of breach has happened. Yet if top leaders start to retire before their term ends or Trump sacks the top generals, that is a very ominous event.

If the "Greenland thing" dies down, perhaps having a meeting with the Danes which will be continued in the future and then dropped, then it's likely Trump has been given a clear "NO" from the military.

But the Europeans are still alarmed. UK's Starmer is thinking of sending troops to Greenland, if necessary.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warns that talks within NATO on a possible UK military presence in Greenland form part of a broader effort to safeguard international order, while former US President Donald Trump's forceful foreign policy rhetoric stokes deep concern among European allies.Sir Starmer has underscored that any discussion of British troops in Greenland is framed within NATO's collective defence strategy. Government ministers have indicated that such deployments form part of routine strategic engagement with allies to deter potential Russian aggression in the Arctic Circle.

What is encouraging is that the Daily Mail reports this planning is resisted by the joint chiefs of staff as an illegal order. — ssu

How long do you think some parts of the US military elite will hold out against a maverick US president? As far as I can tell, apart from them, there's really nothing to stop him.

How long do you think some parts of the US military elite will hold out against a maverick US president? — Tom Storm

Until he gets military people like Kash Patel, Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem to be man the crucial leadership places in the military. And it's totally possible: just start from a lieutenant general like Mike Flynn and put him in charge to first pick totally loyal MAGA people from the ranks of the military and then purge others. Luckily this would need real leadership qualities, which Trump doesn't have. But a true purge of the military would be needed if the Trump needs a totally loyal armed forces for himself.

Let's remember that former national security advisor (for 22 days) general Mike Flynn advised Trump to use the military to seize the voting machines when Trump lost to Biden. I think he would have the Trump character to attempt to make the armed forces loyal to dictator Trump.



Until that day, there might be too many generals like Mark Milley, who Trump loathes so much that the White House immediately when his second term started demanded his picture to be removed from the Pentagon, his security clearance was suspended and Hegseth is looking ways how Milley could be demoted now when retired.

So that's symbolic purge light.

Ted Lieu clarified in public that Trump can't (legally) invade Greenland (or Canada) without Congress.
Soldiers would be following illegal orders.
Seems unlikely that Congress would go for it.
Whether that'll stop Trump is another question.

Russia or China invading Greenland seems rather implausible, though they're always lurking around.
In the case of China, invading Greenland seems less plausible than invading Taiwan.

Neither China or Russia would even think of invading Greenland because they would immediately be pushed back by NATO forces. Trump has nothing when it comes to a reason to annex Greenland. Maybe what he’s thinking of in 20 or 30yrs in the future when the arctic becomes less frozen and mining can be done where it is inaccessible at the moment. Although if NATO breaks up, the geopolitics will have changed by then and the US would likely be weaker.

So are you saying that Trump does not currently have enough key military personnel aligned with his administration to enforce his authority beyond constitutional or legislative limitations?

So are you saying that Trump does not currently have enough key military personnel aligned with his administration to enforce his authority beyond constitutional or legislative limitations? — Tom Storm

As @jorndoe commented above, when it comes to invading Greenland and annexing territory for a NATO member and thus creating the possibility of the dissolution of NATO, it's quite obvious that the view would be that it is an illegal order. Beyond stupidity, I say.

Yet if it's blowing up some boat in the Caribbean, a JSOC commander wouldn't and did not put his career on the line (as we can see from how general Bradley has acted).

Notice that the generals don't have their position totally dependent on Trump as their career has gone through the system, even if the political leadership has appointed them. If a general is totally dependent on the support of Trump and has no support in the military, then it would be different situation.

Like if somehow Trump would promote retired lieutenant general Mike Flynn to four star general and appoint him the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Flynn would know that once Trump is out, he will be too.

The US Military isn't there yet.

The US Military isn't there yet. — ssu

Let’s hope so. Would your assessment be that the President and his backers are working on complete military control so that he/they can retain power indefinitely?

Let’s hope so. — Tom Storm

Paradoxically, the reason I'm confident that NOW we aren't there yet is because of Trump himself.

He had the perfect situation to really do an autocoup on Jan 6th, but what did he do? Told he'd walk with his supporters to Capitol Hill, but was then whisked away to the White House by the Secret Service where he sat and watched on TV his supporters breaking into the Capitol Complex. And at some point, he finally listen to his daughter (or someone else) that's it's enough and they should go home.

But OMG, would you have a more capable populist leader like Victor Orban, you really should be scared. Or American would have already been living under President Trump for nine years with no end in sight.

Putin's preference should be clear enough: Greenland a US state; no NATO.

If Canada was forcefully taken over by Trump, a movement of guerrillas and whatever troubles would emerge. A large anti-Trump voter base would become US citizens. I'm sure Putin would be thrilled about the commotion.

Trump's dumbassery seems to make allies look at China with friendlier eyes. Not because of allies going communist, though.

By the way, Jack Daniel's #7 is getting hard to come by in Canada. The Canadians are serious about boycotting Trump's US.