GOP Rep. McCaul says a US invasion of Greenland would mean ‘war with NATO itself’

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul warned on Sunday that any U.S. military intervention to obtain Greenland would put America at odds with its NATO allies — and possibly spell the end of the alliance itself. 

“What do you make of what’s going on with the president in Greenland? And now he’s slapped tariffs on eight of our allies in Europe; he’s not ruling out military force to get Greenland. What is going on?” “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked McCaul, who serves as chairman emeritus of both the House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees.

While McCaul acknowledged the strategic importance of the autonomous island, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and noted that previous Presidents have considered acquiring the territory, he said the U.S. already has a treaty that allows “full access” to protect Greenland — effectively negating the purpose of any invasion. 

“The fact is, the president has full military access to Greenland to protect us from any threat,” McCaul said. “So if he wants to purchase Greenland, that’s one thing. But for him to militarily invade would turn Article 5 of NATO on its very head and, in essence, press a war with NATO itself. It would end up abolishing NATO as we know it.”

McCaul added, “If we want to put more military in there, we can; we don’t have to invade it. If he wants to buy it, that’s fine. But I don’t see a willing seller right now.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen echoed McCaul’s point on “This Week,” and accused the president of “lying” when he says obtaining Greenland is about national security. 

“Denmark and Greenland have both said to the United States, ‘You can take what measures you need to protect the security of the United States and, of course, the NATO alliance,'” Van Hollen said. “We have a base there already, and we can expand that base.” 

“This is not about security,” Van Hollen told Karl. “This is about a land grab. Donald Trump wants to get his hands on the minerals and other resources of Greenland, just like the real reason he went into Venezuela had nothing to do with stopping drugs from coming.”

Asked if there was any action that Congress could take to prevent Trump from using force to take over Greenland, Van Hollen called on Congress to invoke the War Powers Resolution.

“We could, for example, cut off any funds that could be used for military purposes with respect to Greenland; we could take action under the War Powers Resolution,” Van Hollen said. “But a lot of our Republican colleagues talk big until it comes time to vote. We saw that just this past week, where two Republican senators who had voted in favor of moving forward the War Powers Resolution on Venezuela backed off. So they have to stop giving Donald Trump a blank check.”

Van Hollen also criticized Trump’s threats to intervene militarily in Iran amid reports that thousands of protesters have been killed in demonstrations against the country’s regime. 

“I don’t believe we should be using American military force to try to impose democracy on Iran,” Van Hollen said. 

“We should support the protesters,” he added. “But the president of United States should not suggest that we’re going to come in there and provide military support to get rid of the regime.”