J.D.Vance and his wife landed in Greenland so Vance could make his case for the United States taking over Greenland. Some of the first words out of his mouth were a lie. He said, “We respect the self-determination of the people of Greenland but, ….” If that were true, he and his wife would be somewhere else. The Greenlanders have made it very clear they want no part in joining the United States. Further, Vance and Trump don’t even respect the right of the American people for self-determination. Does anybody remember January 6th, not to mention the current attack on rights for just about everyone? Trump and Vance have no respect for anyone who offers a different opinion, who chooses a different lifestyle or who happens to not be a white, male, and Christian.
Does anyone really believe Trump’s fascination with Greenland is about national security? Balderdash! If he was so big on national security, he wouldn’t have hired the clowns he currently has in place who think using a commercial communications app to discuss military secrets is perfectly OK. Wanting Greenland has very little to do with national security and everything to do with money.
Trump and his billionaire buddies see dollars signs all over Greenland because they want to rape and plunder it of natural resources. They want to build mines. They want to drill for oil. They don’t give one whit about what the people of Greenland want. No one should kid themselves. This is about money and making corporations and rich people richer and screwing everyone else.
Trump likes to keep the myth alive that he is a great negotiator. The fact is, he is a terrible negotiator (and he knows it) but he is a first-class bully. Trump’s view of the world is a zero-sum game where it’s “I win, you lose” whereas a skilled negotiator will try to reach an agreement where all parties feel reasonably good about knowing that each party is unlikely to get everything they want but everyone got something positive out of the deal.
Since Greenland is sitting on a wealth of natural resources, if Trump were truly the negotiator he claims to be, he and his team would sit down with Denmark and the Greenlanders and try to hammer out a solution that would benefit all parties involved. Instead, he is just trying to bully his way forward and willing to destroy a valuable relationship with allies, Denmark, and NATO, without any regard whatsoever for the current population of Greenland, in a ‘winner take all’ gambit.
If Trump continues down this path and decides he will take control of Greenland by force, there will be no winners. Everyone will lose. The United States will irreparably damage our longstanding relationship with NATO and that could very well lead to armed conflict. Greenland is part of Denmark and under Article V of the NATO charter, if any member is attacked, it is viewed as an attack upon all members, and they are obligated to respond. Further, the Greenlanders will more than likely respond just like anyone would if their homeland was invaded and begin guerilla warfare against any occupying US forces. Will Greenland become an arctic version of Vietnam or Afghanistan? Those didn’t work out so well for the US and I predict any attempt to take Greenland by force will suffer the same fate. The only question will be how many lives will be wasted in the process.
Given how the US is currently treating Canada, if I were the Canadian PM, I think I’d be talking to Denmark and the Greenlanders and asking for permission to put a Canadian military base on Greenland and then tell the United States to leave altogether. That would really piss Trump off. Canada is really good at fighting in the artic, so it makes more sense for them to ‘protect’ Greenland than it does for the United States. And they would certainly have more respect for the country and the people than Trump does. Trump only sees dollar signs. That is the only thing he cares about and any talk about national security is just another Trump red herring. And the simple fact is, the Greenlanders much prefer the Greenland cod. It tastes much better than a Trump red herring, which we have all learned by now is bitter, salty and unappetizing.
