LOS ANGELES (OC).– Warning that President Donald Trump’s Greenland policy could destroy NATO or, worse yet, cause a war with Europe, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tx.) joined his Senate colleague Chris Van Hollen (D-Md,) in urging Trump in the strongest possible terms to cease-and-desist on taking Greenland by force. Trump has been toying with the idea fo taking Greenland since his first term [2017-2021], heaping more pressure on Greenland and Denmark in recent weeks. Trump insists that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security but, McCaul and Van Hollen disagree, saying the U.S. already has a military presence in Greenland which could be expanded at any time. Opposed by the entire EU, French President Emmanuel Macron has taken the lead in discouraging Trump in every way possible from traking Greenland by force, insisting Greenland and Demark want no part of the U.S.
McCaul doesn’t speak for Trump-backers in the House and Senate who would go along with Trump’s desire to seize the Arctic island as U.S. territory. Greenland and Denmark have emphatically declared they wish to keep the current arrangement that has Greenland part of Denmark. Trump insists that Denmark lacks the security resources to defend Greenland from a Russian or Chinese attack, whether or not that’s unrealistic. Denmark and Greenland say that Russia and China have not been present anywhere close to Greenland’s territorial waters, posing no threat to the Arctic island. “The fact is, the president has full military access to Greenland to protect us from any threat,” McCaul said. McCaul thinks challenging NATO would result in irreversible changes to the U.S. role in the 80-plus-year-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization. McCaul oppses taking Greenland by force.
McCaul thinks because of NATO;s Article 5, a mutual defebse provision, Trump would pit NATO against he United States So, If he wants to purchase Greenland that’s one thing. But for him to militarily invade would turn Article 5 of NATO on its very head and, in essence, press a war with NATO itself. It would end up abolishing NATO as we know it,: said McCaul. Trump has made Demark a generous offer to buy Greenland, something they have categorically rejected. Trump looks at Greenland as a major land acquisition much like President Andrew Johnson purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for $15 million. Estimate of what Trump offered Demark re in the neighborhood of $50 billion but it could be much higher. At some price, it would not be in the national security interest of the United States to spend so much cash on a capricious purpose.
Van Hollen was less diplomatic about Trump, accusing the president of an illegal land grab with Greenland. “This is not abaout security,” Van Hollen said.. “This is about a land grab. Donald Trump wants to get his hand on the minerals and other resources of Greenland, just like the real rason he went into Venezuela had nothing to do with stopping drugs from comin,” Van Hollen said. Can you imagine the supreme hypocrisy of Van Hollen knowing that his part has stopped the government from extracting rare earth and petroleum from Alaska. What’s wrong with Trump wanting to exploit the mineral wealth from Greenland or Alaska for that matter? Keeping the minerals buried in the Greenland or Alaskan wilderness does no one any good. When Van Hollen talks about a land grab, it’s obvious the U.S. would spend more money on development in Greenland than Denmark.
When it comes to Ukraine, why’s Van Hollen complaining about a communistic dictator removed from Venezuela? Whatever Trump’s motives in Venezuela, they’re all the right ones whether about drugs or communist dictatorship. What’s wrong with Van Hollen that he can’t give Trump any credit for removing a communist dictator from Caracas. Judging by reactions in Caracas, the public at no objections at all. But if you listen to Van Hollen, Trump committed another egregious extrajudicial act without any benefit to the United States. Trump has received high praise from Nobel laureate Mara Corina Machado, asking Trump to install her as Venezuelas’s next president. Democrats and the fake news have nothing good to say about anything Trump does, only looking at the Midterm elections. Acquiring Greenland would be a valuable asset for the United States.
Denmark and Greenland have said emphatically that they don’t want to be part of the United States. But if Russia or China move into Greenland, they would be begging the U.S. to evict their new captors. What would be so bad for Greenland if taken over by the United States. Greenland residents would have more economic opportunity and change to improve their standard of living under U.S. leadership. Greenlanders need to look to Alaska’s Inuit population to know how much the U.S. government does for Alaska’s native population. All the hype from Denmark about rejecting Trump’s offer has been irresponsible, knowing the role the U.S. plays in NATO, paying 20% of its budget. All the NATO countries want the U.S. to guarantee Ukrainian post-war security, not any other country from NATO. Demark could become rich selling Greenland to the U.S.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
