In an interview with Meet the Press, President Donald Trump discussed the possible need to use military force to take over Greenland from NATO-ally Denmark. Trump stated, “Something could happen with Greenland. I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security.”

Consider the implications of Trump’s threat to use military force against a NATO ally. Article 5 of the NATO Treaty states that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all. If Article 5 is invoked, each member is obligated to assist the attacked member by taking “forthwith, individually and in concert with other Parties, such action which is deemed necessary.”

It is almost impossible to imagine that a President of the United States would threaten military force against a fellow NATO ally, but unfortunately this is a real possibility. The use of military force by the U.S. against Greenland would require that all other NATO members, including our neighbor Canada, to respond with either military, economic or any other force “deemed necessary” to counter the American use of force. The results of such a conflict would be a disaster for the entire free world. The only winners would be China, Russia and other opponents of democracy.

Another important implication of Trump’s threat to take Greenland because he says, “we need that for national and international security,” is that China and Russia could employ this same misguided reasoning to justify the invasion of Greenland to protect their own national security as well. Afterall, Greenland is in just as a strategically important location for Russia and China as it is for the U.S. Russia has already used this same misguided reasoning to justify its invasion of Ukraine and China could use this same justification to invade Taiwan, or for other nations to invade their neighbors because they consider them to be vital for their national security.

Trump’s aggressive desires represent a threat to the entire world order. The world is watching and holding its collective breath.