A U.S. takeover of Greenland could be ‘shattering of NATO,’ warns Canada’s former military commander

As U.S. President Donald Trump insists his country needs Greenland for security purposes, Canada’s former top soldier is warning that a U.S. takeover of the area could spell the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“We have no history of one NATO partner seizing territory from another,” said retired general Wayne Eyre, formerly Canada’s chief of the defence staff, in an interview with CBC’s The House. “I share the Danish assessment that yes, this could be the shattering of NATO, much to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s delight.”

In the aftermath of Trump’s operation in Venezuela, U.S. officials have stepped up their rhetoric around acquiring Greenland — even going so far as saying “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option.”

Earlier this week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Denmark’s public broadcaster that if the U.S. opts to attack another NATO country, “then everything would stop — that includes NATO and therefore post-World War II security.”

Eyre said that Canada must be “clear-eyed about the range of possible future scenarios” and can hedge against uncertainty by “coexisting from a position of strength.”

WATCH | Trump aide says Greenland should be part of the U.S.:

Why Trump wants Greenland

The Trump administration has made it clear it wants to take control of Greenland and it isn’t ruling out using military force. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner breaks down why the U.S. has labelled annexing the sparsely-populated island a ‘national security priority.’

“That’s not just military strength, but what can we do to strengthen other alliances — to strengthen our economy, to strengthen our institutions of democratic governance, to be resilient against foreign interference and disinformation,” Eyre said.

The former military commander also said the rules-based world order hit a turning point years ago, and what’s happening now is an “accelerant” of that change.

“We are clearly in that disorder phase. And the other that we’ve enjoyed, really since the end of 1945, I think, is gone,” Eyre said.

Jody Thomas, who served as national security adviser to former prime minister Justin Trudeau, noted that Canada has similar minerals and Arctic access as Greenland does.

“I think the individuals who are briefing [Prime Minister Mark Carney] are probably telling them ‘Yes, we have to be very conscious of the fact that we are seeing an unprecedented threat to Canadian sovereignty,'” Thomas told The House.

‘Tremendous concern’ for U.S. military members

Since taking office, Trump has made several changes to military leadership, including last year ousting Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.

Eyre told host Catherine Cullen he worked with and knows “two-thirds of the three- and four-star generals and admirals that have been fired.”

“I have tremendous concern for them, for my former colleagues, as they face potentially the greatest crisis in political-military relations in their nation’s history.”

Eyre said the military “follows the lawful orders of the duly elected civilian government, but when that definition of ‘lawful’ comes into question, there’s not a playbook, there’s not a template to follow.”

In November, a group of Democratic lawmakers released a video on social media advising troops they can decline unlawful orders — which prompted a sharp backlash from Trump, who branded the move seditious behaviour.

More recently, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said his department is censuring Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, one of the lawmakers in the video.

Eyre said even as political relationships go up and down, it’s still prudent for Canada to maintain its military relationships with the United States “as we don’t know what’s gonna be happening decades from now.”

Canada needs foreign intelligence service: Thomas

As Canada strengthens its independence, Thomas told Cullen that it should consider setting up a foreign human intelligence service, like the CIA in the United States or MI6 in the United Kingdom.

She noted setting up a service like that doesn’t mean intelligence-sharing alliances like the Five Eyes aren’t important, but “we don’t know what they’re not sharing with us.”

“I also think in the environment we’re in right now, Canadians are not necessarily going to be trusting of intelligence that we have received perhaps from another country, and they want to know if we’ve analyzed it, collected it and managed it ourselves.”

If there’s action taken because of intelligence, Thomas said it would have more credibility if Canada itself has gathered the information.

According to the federal government, Canada’s existing spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, co-operates with foreign agencies to get information “which might otherwise not be available to Canada.”

As threats continue to change and evolve, Eyre said Canada still has “so much going for us.”

“What we need, though, is a sense of confidence in ourselves and a willingness to do hard things and just deliver and get things done.”

Article source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/united-states-greenland-nato-canada-9.7039960?cmp=rss