The US embassy in Denmark has drawn criticism after removing flags placed outside its Copenhagen building to commemorate Danish soldiers killed during the Afghanistan war, a move that has fuelled diplomatic unease between the two Nato allies.
On Tuesday, 44 Danish flags were set up outside the embassy in memory of the 44 troops who lost their lives during the conflict. Footage later showed a security guard taking the flags down, prompting public anger and renewed scrutiny of relations between Washington and Copenhagen.
Danish broadcaster TV2 reported that the incident quickly escalated, with members of the public returning to the site to place hundreds more flags outside the embassy in response to the removals.
US Embassy Response Sparks Veteran Backlash
A US State Department spokesperson told CNN that the embassy had not been aware of the flags’ meaning and said security staff routinely remove prohibited flags, banners and signs at the end of their shifts.
The explanation failed to appease Danish veterans. On Wednesday, the Danish Veteran Association condemned the decision, calling it “unnecessary and insensitive” in a social media post. Its chair, Carsten Rasmussen, struck a measured tone, saying: “When they go low, we go high – and we respond with calm, dignity and consideration.”
Denmark is among the Nato countries that suffered the highest losses per capita during the Afghanistan war, a fact that has made the incident particularly emotive for many Danes.
Trump’s Greenland Claims and Nato Dispute Loom Large
The episode comes against the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tension triggered earlier this month when US President Donald Trump insisted that America must “control” Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump argued the island was vital to US security because of its strategic Arctic location, despite Denmark being a Nato ally and long-standing US partner. He later threatened tariffs against those opposing the plan, as European leaders pushed back against any suggestion of US control over Greenland.
The situation worsened when Trump claimed Nato owed him Greenland, falsely asserting that the alliance had “never” supported the United States.
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Nato secretary general Mark Rutte countered by noting that alliance members fought in Afghanistan for two decades following the 9/11 attacks. Trump responded by claiming Nato troops “stayed a little back” from the frontlines, remarks Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday were “intolerable”.
Tensions appeared to ease slightly last weekend after Trump said he had agreed a “framework” for a future deal with Rutte, although details of the arrangement remain unclear.
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