The Monocle Daily What would Denmark do if the US invaded Greenland? Plus: the latest from the Gulf
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Mar 20, 2026 Alexis Self, Monocle foreign editor reporting from Greenland on Denmark’s defence planning. Carlotta Rebello, Monocle producer covering MIPIM and urban design highlights. Inzamam Rashid, Gulf correspondent on Strait of Hormuz tensions and Iran’s moves. They discuss Greenland’s contingency plans and local reaction. They tour MIPIM’s big urban projects. They map rising Gulf maritime tensions and regional diplomacy.
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Denmark Prepared To Defend Greenland
- Denmark prepared to fight US forces to defend Greenland, including plans to destroy runways and stockpile medical supplies.
- Alexis Self reported Copenhagen took the threat seriously, drafting concrete contingency plans after Trump's comments in January.
Nuuk Residents Responded With Anger
- Locals in Nuuk expressed anger rather than fear at the US's threats, seeing them as betrayal by a longtime protector.
- Alexis Self described small military and consular installations in Nuuk and meeting tall, jolly Danish soldiers on patrol.
Greenland Row Shook NATO's Assumptions
- The Greenland episode revealed a larger strategic shock: allies now consider the US can be a threat, overturning postwar assumptions.
- Alexis Self argued NATO partners struggled to process a guarantor-of-security behaving unpredictably under Trump.