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What’s Denmark’s plan for defending Greenland? Sled dogs.
Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, the part of the Danish military focused on Greenland, declined to comment on the resources it has dedicated to defending the island. Analysts said the command, in addition to the seven ships, includes fewer than 150 military personnel; a unit of about a dozen elite soldiers on sleds pulled by dogs; helicopters; and a Challenger surveillance plane. The force is tasked with defending a sparsely populated country that is slightly larger than Mexico and has nearly 30,000 miles of rugged coastline.
In December, hours after Trump said he wanted Greenland, Poulsen pledged to buy two new long-range drones and two extra dogsled teams and upgrade one of Greenland’s three main civilian airports to handle U.S.-made F-35 jet fighters.
Puts more dogs on the job. Who needs the warships anyway?
The hulking warship that Denmark anchors in this icy fishing port is supposed to act as a reminder of the small Nordic country’s role in protecting the Arctic seas at the top of the North American continent.
But last year the Danish navy made an embarrassing admission. Until recently, the 76mm cannon on the patrol boat’s foredeck was largely just for show. For around a decade, it didn’t have a targeting system. It could fire but would have a hard time hitting anything.
The rest of the Danish Joint Arctic Command’s fleet of seven vessels wasn’t in great shape, either. Four larger Danish frigates that patrol in the waters off Greenland are more than three decades old and break down frequently. To cut maintenance costs, the Danes ripped out their submarine-spotting sonar systems, leaving them so denuded of weapons and sensors that former Danish naval commanders doubt they technically count as warships by North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards.
Small northern countries have proven that they can defend their territory from much larger nations. Just ask Finland. The key variable is determination. Denmark could have ten times the army that it does have, but I’m not terribly confident that they could do what for example the Ukrainians have been doing in putting significant amounts of bodies on the line to protect their independence. At this point I’m not sure how many Western Europeans would.
And that’s the real problem.
The Danish performed fairly well in Afghanistan, but sending elite troops into a narrow mission is different than a serious war. A people committed to national defense can fight and win a war with sled dogs. A people who aren’t won’t win with warships and drones.
With all due respect to the Danes, they aren’t thinking geostrategically. They can’t defend Greenland against Russia or China. They make magnificent soldiers, such as my uncle, who started out as a private in the USA Marines during the Korean War (his naive parents (from honest Denmark making their way in corrupt America) had no idea that it was possible for him to start as an officer) but ended up as a Colonel for his efforts in the war. I just saw a picture of him in Korea yesterday, in his warm outfit, smiling in the freezing cold weather with a buddy of his. He once told me he still had nightmares about running out of ammunition, with the Chinese Army coming at him in a human wave attack.
The Danes still haven’t recovered from Nelson’s brilliant battle at Copenhagen (1801), which destroyed Danish naval power (despite heroic Danish defense) and ended Denmark’s role as a European great power. Then came the massive power of Germany on the Danes southern border, scarfing up territory and squeezing them even further into a smaller and smaller space. A great people squeezed into a small space, unable to play any longer the role of a great power.
The population of Denmark (a small country) is only around 6 million, for those not familiar with the place.
(Nelson’s object was to keep the Danish fleet out of Napoleon’s hands. Nelson’s exploits were phenomenal, but a whole study in themselves).
Everyone seems to forget that Denmark took sides with Nazi Germany during WWII. Denmark claimed “neutrality” but it was nothing but a smokescreen.
This underlines how we paid for Europe for decades which allowed them to build their socialist states. Now the bill will come due as we pull back. Our empire will not fall to another thirsty one , just our own lethargy.
China is quite weak despite the PR campaign. Russia is having to hire troops from North Korea. The international division into zones of influence will continue. Only a religion can overcome this deterioration. Hmmm?
The use of service Animals is what gets those jerks from PETA upset so just Go Ahead Denmark anything to upset jerks f rom PETA
lol, good one Spurwing, made me laugh 🙂
My daughter lives in Copenhagen and, as an American, is receiving all kinds of negative attention over this. She often hears, “We’ve had it for 800 years.” That’s a lot of emotional heritage to overcome.
She’s also been friends for over ten years with a girl that grew up in Greenland, now working for the Danish government. She sees herself as a Dane that happened to grow up in Greenland. Geopolitics doesn’t cut any ice in that situation.
I think Greenfield might have stolen the sled dog thing from the Babylon Bee.
Election fraud. “Immigration” abuse.
Until we fix those two issues, we don’t need any territories the Democrats can abuse.
Russia is taking over the Arctic, is the problem.