Ally without reservations: Danish responses to the 9/11 terrorist attack

Based on recent declassified sources, this article uncovers the motives behind the Danish responses to the 9/11 terrorist attack and why Denmark went to war in Afghanistan. The terrorist attack was a shock, which caused a politically uncontroversial policy of showing solidarity with the United States. However, the scope of this policy was up for debate. The Danish government pursued a policy of unconditional solidarity which also included willingness to deploy military forces to Afghanistan. Behind this was an analysis that nothing but unconditional support from Europe could lead to a more unilateral or perhaps even isolationist development in US foreign policy, which would have negative consequences for Denmark’s security. The goal was to maintain the transatlantic bond. The Danish Ministry of Defence and the Danish Defence took an activist approach in their efforts to transform this policy into a military contribution. The dividing political lines unfolded in earnest when different ways of contributing militarily presented itself. The liberal, conservative and right-wing parties preferred a contribution to fighting terrorists and the Taleban regime as requested by the US, while the centre, social democratic and left-wing parties wanted to prioritise humanitarian aid and to assist the interim Afghan authorities in maintaining security in Kabul. However, Denmark ended up contributing to both military operations and humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. But it was the US-requested military contribution that was valued the most and led to a closer Danish-US bilateral relationship.