Danish veterans of US wars feel betrayed by Trump’s threats against Greenland

COPENHAGEN: More than 15 years ago, Danish platoon commander Martin Tamm Andersen was leading his countrymen and US Marines through the heat and sand of southern Afghanistan after a Taliban attack.

As Andersen’s vehicle moved at the rear of the column, everything was normal — until in one instant the world turned sand-colored. His body shook violently.

“I had no idea what was going on,” he recalled. He ran his hands over his arms and legs to make sure they were still there.

When the dust settled, he saw one of his soldiers bleeding heavily from his face. Another had been hurled from the turret and lay on the ground, groaning in pain, his back broken in two places. The blast had torn the vehicle apart.

“When America needed us after 9/11, we were there,” the 46-year-old veteran said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“As a veteran and as a Dane, you know, you feel sad and very surprised that the US wants to take over part of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said. “It’s a betrayal of the loyalty of our nation to the US and to our common alliance, NATO.”

He spoke from the Danish War Museum in Copenhagen, where his armoured personnel carrier that hit the improvised explosive device in 2010 in Helmand Province is on display.

Before his deployment to Afghanistan, Andersen had also served in Iraq. Good friends were killed and wounded in both wars. He believed his service in the US wars served the cause of freedom and democracy.