America's bullying risks the world order

On a trip to Denmark last September, I was struck by the worries my Danish relatives had about Russian aggression.

I remember thinking, Russia? What’s to fear? It’s not like Vladimir Putin’s going to invade. We Americans are your friends and allies in the NATO defense alliance. We’ve got your back! No worries!

Silly me.

Turns out the U.S. has got Denmark’s back alright. With the sharp end of a dagger.

As every red-blooded American patriot knows by now, the president of MAGAmerica loves to bully the “woke” and the “weak.” His repeated threats to nab Greenland from Denmark were his latest outburst of scorn and condescension.

Even if the U.S. ends up getting what it wants in Greenland (short of ownership), the circle of trust is broken.

Copenhagen and other European democracies got the message loud and clear: The U.S. is no longer trustworthy.

When the dominant king of the NATO defense alliance bullies a fellow member, it risks the future of NATO and the international order as it has existed since the end of World War II.

Imagine what the President’s bellicosity sounds like in Europe, which is already dealing with Russia’s hybrid aggression.

Et tu, Brute?

The President’s verbal attacks were shocking because the Danes are among America’s best allies and because Copenhagen was always open to giving the U.S. whatever it wanted in Greenland, short of possession.

A simple ask would have sufficed.

Like jilted lovers, thousands of Danes and Greenlanders took to the streets in protest, some wearing the newest iteration of the MAGA hat: Make America Go Away.

European allies joined the chorus.

“Hands Off Greenland!”

As a reminder, Denmark lost 43 soldiers fighting alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2021 -- the highest per capita casualty rate of any contributing nation.

This is not the thanks they expected.

Adding salt to the wound, the president mocked Denmark’s military: “You know what Denmark did recently to boost up security on Greenland? They added one more dog sled.”

Laugh out loud funny, right?

Not to anybody who knows anything about Denmark’s elite dog sled patrols, which venture into Greenland’s vast, uninhabitable interior, often for months at a time.

Their mission involves surveillance and law enforcement, not the defense of Greenland’s security. That’s for Denmark and NATO.

Oh well. At least the MAGA-verse got a good yuck.

Meanwhile, what happens when a nation squanders its virtue as a reliable friend and ally? Should Americans be surprised when the chickens come home to roost?

Some experts think NATO’s divorce is now not only likely, but a good thing for European democracies and Canada (even if Russia and China would be further emboldened by the breakup).

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already laid out a bold post-NATO vision. It reads the writing on the wall and envisions a new course for the future.

Speaking to an enthusiastic audience in Davos, Switzerland, Carney said America has ruptured the international order.

“Middle powers” like Canada, the U.K., and the E.U. should move on from the old order and invest in a joint economic and military alliance that would rival, rather than submit, to the U.S.A.

“America First” would get what she deserves:

To be left alone, diminished in influence, weakened in security, preening in self-adoration, freed from the yoke of its “woke” and “weak” allies in Europe and Canada.

No worries!

Michael Sondergard is a former community newspaper editor, a retiree from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the grandson of Danish immigrants.