Nick Beek
European correspondent
BBC
An adult life, Colonel Soren Knudsen moved forward when his country called. And when that allies did.
He fought alongside the US troops in Afghanistan, particularly in Afghanistan, but for a while he was Denmark’s most senior officer. He counted 58 rocket attacks during his duties.
“I was awarded a bronze star medal from the US and they gave me stars and stripes. They have been hanging from the walls of our house ever since, and proudly showed it to everyone.”
After that, something changed.
“After JD Vance’s statement on Greenland, the president’s disrespect for internationally recognized borders, I defeated the stars and stripes and the medals were cleared,” says Soren.
The week before this week of Parliament, the US president doubled his desire to seize Greenland, the world’s largest island, the Kingdom of Denmark’s autonomous territory.
“My first feeling was that it hurts. The second is that I’m offended,” lamented Kol Knudsen.
I will meet him in the first few weeks of his retirement outside the Amarienborg Palace in the heart of Copenhagen, a Danish 18th century royal residence.
Suddenly, Piper attacks and the soldiers stream.
Today’s security changes come when the Trump administration not only tweaked it but also curtailed most assumptions about US and Europe’s security that have been kept quickly for 80 years.
“It’s about values and when those values are xed by what we thought were allies, it becomes very difficult to see,” Soren says he’s with American wife Gina by his side.
“Denmark was free and undoubtedly joined in the efforts my husband served,” she says.
“So it’s shocking to hear of the threats from the country I love and feel that the alliance is being trampled down.
Soren has not given up on all hope.
“My hope and prayer are what I can put one day [the flag] Back to the wall,” he confesses.
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Denmark lost 44 soldiers in Afghanistan – more than non-US countries as part of its population
There are no signs that his prayers will be answered immediately.
Greenland, the dominant territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, will be next week in a vote in which all major political parties will vote for independence at some point in the future.
The potentially powerful takeover by Donald Trump has not been featured on the ballot.
Not far from the royal palace, soldiers who were defeated in recent battles are erecting a Danish monument.
Carved on the stoned wall are the names of those killed along with their Western allies.
The section celebrating the fall of a US-led invasion in Afghanistan is particularly big.
Denmark lost 44 soldiers in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was more than other allies outside the US as a percentage of its population of less than six million. Eight Danish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
This is why the president’s words stab so much.
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Former NATO Executive Director Anders Fog Rasmussen suspects the US will forcefully attempt to steal Greenland
One man very well placed to consider what Trump’s ambitions for Greenland actually exists is Anders Fog Rasmussen.
“President Trump’s declaration of his intention to force him to take Greenland is very similar to Putin’s rhetoric when it comes to Ukraine,” he told the BBC.
The former Danish Prime Minister and the former NATO Alliance Prime Minister argue that if this is Denmark and the US is not pleased, the rest of Europe must step up to better protect themselves.
“From my childhood I have admired my role as a police officer in the United States and the world, and I think that while I think it is necessary to have police officers to ensure international law and order, Europe must be able to protect itself if the US does not want to carry out that role.”
Fog Rasmussen doesn’t believe officers are trying to turn felons around.
“At the end of the day, I would like to emphasize that Americans don’t think they’ll take Greenland by force.”
Students Lucas, Molly and Clara say it’s “scary” that President Trump can easily influence his daily life thousands of miles away
President Trump first spoke about Greenland’s acquisition in his first term before returning to the theme earlier this year.
But now, after blinding Ukraine, tariffs and his latest move in the Middle East, Denmark is urgently trying to assess the true threat.
For many young Danes, Greenland’s rule is clearly wrong – an immeasurable colonial hangover.
It doesn’t mean they want to hand it straight over to the US instead.
“I have a connection to Greenland,” says music student Molly. “Denmark and Greenland are very separate, but I still have friends from there, so this has a very personal effect on me.”
“I think it’s really scary,” says 18-year-old music student Lucas.
“Everything he sees, he chases, and with oil and money, he doesn’t care about the climate, he doesn’t care about anything.”
His friend Clara Chips is in an unprecedented time of danger, where Trump is so powerful that he can “impact everyday life” thousands of miles away.
In light of President Trump’s suspension of military aid for Ukraine and his deep unwillingness to fund European security, Denmark was at the heart of its willingness to boost defence spending across the continent.
The country announced that it would allocate more than 3% of its GDP to defence spending in 2025 and 2026 to protect it from future attacks from Russia and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, security analyst Hans Tino Hansen stands in front of a huge screen called his “OPS Room” at his Copenhagen headquarters.
“This map is where we update daily threat pictures based on alerts and incidents around the world,” says Hans, who has been implementing risk intelligence for the past 25 years.
As part of increasing Danish defence spending, the extra 2 billion euros announced in January and three new Arctic Navy ships and investments in long-range drones are bolstering strength at the High North.
Hans believes that Arctic security can be further strengthened not by US acquisitions but with new deals that will restore US influence.
“If we make more agreements, both in defense and security, and on both economic and raw materials, we’ll be back to where we are in our 50s and 60s, more or less.”
Security analyst Hans Tino Hansen says it would be in Denmark’s interest to trade with the US on Greenland’s defense and raw materials.
However, the story goes even further back than in the mid-20th century.
“When you look at this Earth, Greenland is the most central location on Earth,” says world-renowned geologist Professor Minic Rossing.
The tranquility of his room reflects the temperament of a man who grew up in the “seven or eight” villages of the island’s Nuk Fjord.
However, the main reason his hometown is now exposed to increased surveillance from outsiders is the abundant mineral deposits beneath the Arctic ice.
We’ve seen Ukrainian natural resources capture Trump’s eyes in almost the same way.
“All these minerals that they talk about as rare metals, rare earth elements – not in fact, they are rare. What’s rare is their use,” he reasones.
Professor Rosing says Greenland’s vastness and lack of infrastructure are just two factors why the island is not the cash point that some Americans want.
“They are a small portion of the mining industry and the economy that extracts them is very uncertain, but the investments that start extracting are very high. The risk of investments is too high compared to the potential profits.”
Reuters
The US currently has one military base in Greenland – Pitafik, in the far north
The current Greenland government has said there will be a vote on independence at some point after next week’s election.
Certainly not intentional, President Trump’s design on the island shines light on the desire found among Inuits to eventually be free from 300 years of Danish rule.
However, Professor Rosing believes that despite all the potential mineral wealth, his fellow Greenlanders are not in a hurry to abandon the £480 million (EUR 570 million) annual bloc grant they receive from Copenhagen.
This briefly explains more than half of the island’s public budget.
“People talk about the price of the next overboard engine you want in a boat, the gas and all of these things that a normal person does,” he says.
“It’s not that they’re going to get up with a big knife and swing it in the air and scream for independence, independence.”
Professor Minik Rosing says most Greenlanders do good work and don’t want to work in the mining industry.
Regarding Trump’s apparent obsession with taking Greenland, Fog Rasmussen fears a nasty conclusion will be drawn.
Danes will no longer be able to do business with men whose views on territorial integrity are highly incompatible with theirs.
“I understand America’s strategic interest in minerals, but when it comes to mining in Greenland, they have not shown any interest,” he says.
“It leaves me with concern that maybe it’s not about security, maybe it’s not about minerals, it’s just a matter of expanding US territory.
“And that’s the point where you can’t actually deal with President Trump.”
Additional Reports by Kostas Kallergis
