Dem
52
Ties
3
GOP
45
Donald Trump actually had a couple big announcements yesterday. Here's the other one:
BREAKING NEWS: I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns. There will be NO COST to the United States! At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America. Additionally, from now on, no U.S. adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval. For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an "Infinite Life" Agreement, there is no end! We are very honored and proud of what has just taken place, and everything agreed to today will be cherished by the American People. We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction. This solution is a great one for the United States of America, Denmark, Greenland, and all of our Allies. We look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland toward a magnificent future with respect to this large, and highly strategic, parcel of land. We will be very protective of it! This is a dream come true for the United States of America, one that is very important, historic, and special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
There appears to be a real agreement, and not just the vaporware that Trump is prone to announcing, and that disappears into the ether. That said, the deal has yet to be approved by the Parliament of Greenland, so he's still jumping the gun.
We are hardly experts in the geopolitics of the Arctic Circle. That said, we do know that there is no such thing as an "Infinite Life" agreement. We also struggle to see what problem this solves. Were there previous limits on how many troops/how much materiel the U.S. could station on its bases in Greenland? If so, we're not aware of it. Similarly, was there really a problem with other nations trying to gain footholds in Greenland without U.S. consent? That seems rather unlikely, since such an attempt would be an obvious affront to U.S. sovereignty, along the lines of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
These things being the case, this sure looks to us like the Trump version of Vietnamization. In 1971, Richard Nixon decided to give up on the Vietnam War, but rather than call it a defeat or a surrender or a retreat, he came up with a fancy-sounding name and said the "new strategy" was to let the South Vietnamese Army do the fighting (as if they had just been sitting around playing tiddlywinks the whole time). Trump similarly created a mess for himself that he could not win, so it would appear he just fled with his tail between his legs, leaving the status quo intact, and then called it a "win." Perhaps this will impress some voters, but if so, we do now know who those voters are. (Z)