Greenland claims: How close have NATO members come to fighting each other?

Al JazeeraCenterEN 6 min read 100% complete by Hanna DuggalJanuary 10, 2026 at 07:05 AM

AI Summary

long article 6 min

In 2026, the US government under the Trump administration is considering military action to seize Greenland from Denmark to deter adversaries in the Arctic. Both the US and Denmark are founding members of NATO, creating a potential conflict within the alliance. European and Canadian leaders are supporting Denmark and Greenland, raising concerns about NATO's future and the limits of Article 5. Article 5, NATO's collective defense principle, requires unanimous agreement to be invoked, making conflict resolution between member states difficult. Historically, the Cod Wars between the UK and Iceland (1958-1976) represent a past instance of conflict between NATO members over fishing rights, involving naval confrontations but stopping short of full-scale war.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Royal Navy 40% Pituffik Space Base 50% UK ×250% Iceland ×260% Cod Wars ×270% Denmark ×270% United States ×480% North Atlantic Treaty Organization ×690% Greenland ×590%

Keywords

nato 100% greenland 90% military action 80% article 5 70% us 60% cod wars 50% denmark 50% collective defence 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Greenland

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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nato greenland military action article 5 us cod wars denmark collective defence

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