Allies appear to duck and cover as Trump threatens Canada and Greenland

Whenever we talk about NATO it's usually in the context of money — or the famous all-for-one, one-for-all treaty clause known as Article 5.

The provision is the bedrock of the Western military alliance, allowing leaders from Latvia to London to Ottawa to sleep better at night knowing more than two dozen other like-minded nations have their backs.

What often doesn't get much attention is the preceding paragraph: Article 4.

In today's climate, Article 4 is extraordinarily pertinent to Canada and Denmark as they face the new, perhaps imperial-minded U.S. administration bent on annexation.

European defence experts sometimes call it the "neglected younger sibling" of the alliance. The provision commits NATO members to "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."

Whether U.S. President Donald Trump's annexation fixation meets that bar still remains to be seen, but the notion that Canada would make "a very fine 51st state" has many ordinary Canadians feeling uneasy, even threatened.

Similarly, Trump's designs on Greenland — to be either bought or taken by force — are as unnerving as they are startling for allies.

How seriously we should take his remarks depends upon who you talk to in this country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent the week in Paris and Brussels meeting with European leaders just days after being caught on a hot mic saying he believes Trump's annexation threats are real. Many in his cabinet, including Defence Minister Bill Blair this week, have downplayed the potential threat.

Without exception, there is a surreal quality to this debate, as though — like Alice in Wonderland — we've fallen through the looking glass into a world that is unfamiliar and turned upside down.

If this were any other time, and any other country, the sort of talk we've been hearing from Trump would have drawn howls of allied and international outrage.

Canadians fought and died in Europe in two world wars, in Korea and in Afghanistan.

Our nation has been one of the most generous countries in terms of humanitarian aid, development funding and even morale support.

Yet, there has been no direct public condemnation by allied leaders and it seems — in the face of Trump — we find ourselves alone.