nvading the territory of a recognized nation and ally is already against US law, as well as international law
Will PflaumFollow
2 days ago
Whether Trump has dementia, is crazy, or is acting as an agent of Putin, any invasion of Greenland is illegal under existing American law.
The idea of genocide was new at the time of the Nuremberg trials. “Crimes against humanity” were secondary to “aggressive war” in much of the indictments and prosecution of Nazis. So, yes, Trump invading Greenland would be a violation of international law, the same international law that led to dozens of top Nazis being hanged by the neck until dead.
However, just because invading Greenland is stupid and a violation of international law and a completely Nazi thing to do, such an action is also a violation of existing US law. This point got lost when Bush II authorized torture, and it’s getting lost now.
The 2025 “No Invading Allies Act” (H.R. 1936) was introduced in the House of Representatives is a great move and should be passed, but only confirms existing law. There is and can be no state of war between the US and Denmark. Therefore, Trump cannot be the commander-in-chief in this area, as there is no war.
Treaties are a big deal.
No issue in the US Constitution gets more ink than international treaties. As a relatively weak nation at the time, the authors of the Constitution were concerned with the US being dragged into a treaty that would undermine national sovereignty, so they made it hard for the US to sign and confirm a treaty. On the flip side, they did not want the US to sign a treaty and then pretend that nothing happened. Once the US signs and confirms the treaty, however, whatever provisions exist in the treaty are now US law and must be obeyed.
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Torture authorized by the Bush administration was not just a violation of international law. The United States Senate formally ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the treaty officially entered into force for the United States on November 20, 1994. At that point, the treaty is US law. When Bush broke the law, it was not international law, it was US domestic law, with equal force, at least in theory.
Many Treaties with the Force of US Law Forbid the Invasion of Greenland
Trump’s invasion of Greenland pertains to a number of ratified treaties. The United Nations Charter (1945) (ratified by the U.S. Senate 89 to 2 on July 28, 1945) Article 2(4), Article 2(1), Article 51 all forbid the invasion. It was almost unanimously approved by the Senate and signed by the President. This is the LAW in this country, regardless of what any other international organization rules.
The North Atlantic Treaty (NATO, 1949) was signed in Washington and ratified by the Senate in 1949. Article 1 of the treaty binds all members to settle international disputes by peaceful means. Article 5 (Collective Defense) requires allies to help each other, it equally binds the U.S. to protect the sovereignty and borders of its allies. An attack on one is considered an attack on all. The treaty explicitly reaffirms the parties’ faith in the principles of the UN Charter, meaning the U.S. is treaty-bound to respect the borders of its NATO allies (such as Canada).
The USMCA (Formerly NAFTA) is a “Congressional-Executive Agreement” that carries the weight of federal law. The Treaty of 1818, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Gadsden Purchase (1853), all of these treaties bind the US to respect the borders of our neighbors.
In the Lansing Declaration at the time Denmark sold the Virgin Islands to the US, America explicitly recognized Denmark’s claim to Greenland. When Norway later challenged Denmark’s claim to Eastern Greenland in the 1930s, the International Court of Justice cited this 1916 agreement as a key reason for ruling in favor of Denmark.
“The Government of the United States will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”
Conclusion
While international law clearly would mean that a US invasion of Greenland is as illegal as the Nazi invasion of France, Poland, Norway, etc. and prosecution should wait for anyone involved in this illegal action, no one should think that the laws violated are “international” or come from outside the US. The US Senate and US Presidents have signed and confirmed many laws that forbid this invasion.
