The Daily Populous Thursday January 8th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by lbc.co.uk and submitted by jackytheblade

The European nation's rules of engagement requires soldiers to “immediately” counter-attack invading forces without awaiting orders

On Wednesday, Denmark’s defence ministry confirmed the existence of the 1952 rule and added that it “remains in force”. Picture: Getty

Danish soldiers "will shoot first and ask questions later" if the United States invades Greenland, the country's defence ministry confirmed.

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The European nation's rules of engagement requires soldiers to “immediately” counter-attack invading forces without awaiting orders. On Wednesday, Denmark's defence ministry confirmed the existence of the 1952 rule and added that it "remains in force". It comes after US president Donald Trump raised the prospects of invading the Nato territory of Greenland, admitting that using US troops to do so was an option. Denmark - which governs Greenland as an overseas territory - was shocked by the remarks and insists the island is "not for sale". Read more: Trump says US 'will always be there for NATO' as Greenland tensions rise Read more: Lammy in US visit to promote special relationship amid tensions over Greenland

Denmark's defence minister, headed by Troels Lund Poulsen, confirmed the existence of the 1952 rule and added that it “remains in force”. Picture: Getty

Greenland's government has also rejected the idea, while Sir Keir Starmer and his European counterparts vowed the would "not stop defending" the territory's integrity. The 1952 rules state that in the event of an invasion: "The attacked forces must immediately take up the fight without waiting for or seeking orders, even if the commanders in question are not aware of the declaration of war or state of war." When approached for a comment by the Danish newspaper Berlingske, the defence ministry said: "The order on precautionary measures for military defence in the event of attacks on the country and during war, remains in force." European leaders have been holding urgent talks on how to respond to Trump's threats, which many could spell the end of Nato if the American leader makes good on his plans. A German government source told Reuters news agency separately that Germany was “closely working together with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that we would be meeting with officials from Denmark and Greenland next week. Asked if Washington would take military intervention off the table, he said: "I'm not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention. I'll be meeting with them next week. "We'll have those conversations with them then. But I don't have anything further to add to that."

The US president took to his Truth Social platform to slam the transatlantic security alliance, claiming Russia "would have all of Ukraine right now" if he were not in office. Picture: Getty

Iyellkhan on January 8th, 2026 at 00:50 UTC »

reading the article, they havent been told to specifically do this against US forces but rather the article is restating current EU military doctrine, which somewhat ironically is based on US doctrine (to the degree the US has a doctrine).

WhyAreYallFascists on January 8th, 2026 at 00:46 UTC »

Don’t we have bases there? We did a looooooot of shit up there during the Cold War.

hetler12 on January 8th, 2026 at 00:43 UTC »

As it should be