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No, the U.S. Military Did Not Quietly Plan an Invasion of Greenland

by Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

There’s a persistent rumor making the rounds that the U.S. military secretly drew up plans to invade Greenland and then bravely “refused” to carry them out. That framing is wrong — and it matters that we get this right.

Here’s the truth. The United States military plans for contingencies all the time. That’s normal. What did not happen is the development of an active, operational invasion plan for Greenland moving through the Pentagon as legitimate policy. When the idea of forcibly acquiring Greenland resurfaced in political rhetoric, senior military leadership reportedly pushed back — not out of drama or rebellion, but because the idea is legally, strategically, and diplomatically reckless.

Greenland is part of Denmark, a NATO ally. Any U.S. military action to seize it would violate international law, shred NATO cohesion, and instantly turn the United States into the aggressor against its own alliance structure. Military leaders understand this better than anyone. They also understand that lawful military orders require congressional authorization and a defensible national security rationale. An invasion of Greenland has neither.

So when people say “the military refused to draw up plans,” what they really mean is this: senior commanders did not treat a politically floated fantasy as a serious or lawful military mission. That’s not insubordination. That’s professionalism.

There is already a long-standing U.S. military presence in Greenland under treaty agreements with Denmark. That arrangement supports Arctic defense and early warning systems without violating sovereignty. There is no strategic vacuum that requires invasion to fill.

Bottom line: no credible invasion plan exists, none is advancing, and resistance came from the sober reality of law, alliances, and consequences — not from some hidden coup inside the Pentagon.