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| Europe | |
| Germany Declares Solidarity With Greenland Against Trump, France Floats Deploying Troops | |
| 2025-01-30 | |
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had meetings in several European capitals on Tuesday in what has been interpreted as an impromptu tour of allies to build an alliance against the United States, as President Donald Trump has expressed the desire to acquire Greenland from the country. Greenland has been under the jurisdiction of Denmark for centuries, first a colony and now a largely autonomous territory. The United States has a long history of buying territory from neighbours to expand the nation rather than through military conquest. It has previously floated the idea of a Greenland purchase several times, going back to the 19th century without success. However, with Greenland becoming increasingly strategically valuable in the race for the Arctic, in addition to its command of the North Atlantic and vast untapped mineral wealth, there has been growing interest in Washington to acquire the island. Visiting Berlin on Tuesday, Frederiksen met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who appears to have decided that implying a similarity between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the best way to deal with Washington. It’s a high-risk strategy, but the German leader may be feeling braver than usual, given he will almost certainly be out of a job in three weeks when his party is widely predicted to flop in the federal elections. Scholz, in a segment of his speech on Ukraine, which German media notes was likely intended for President Trump, said, “inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law… The principle must apply to everyone… Borders must not be moved by force”. At this point, Scholz switched from German to English and added, simply: “To whom it may concern.” The Danish prime minister then visited Paris, which seemingly prompted the French foreign minister to reveal that the Emmanuel Macron government had offered to deploy troops to Greenland if necessary. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told national radio that the country had “started discussing [troop deployment] with Denmark,” but “at this point, it is not Denmark’s wish” to proceed with that plan. Macron has already proven remarkably willing to deploy soldiers in recent months, having emerged as the leading European statesman on the question of sending troops to Ukraine to deter future Russian invasions. Mette Frederiksen’s talks with allies follow what was apparently a difficult 45-minute telephone conversation she had with U.S. President Donald Trump in which the Danish political establishment was assured Trump’s words on acquiring Greenland were not mere rhetoric but sincere intention. This realisation apparently has put the government in “crisis mode” and “freaked out” the state. The Frederiksen appears to have rushed out a $2 billion investment in Arctic security on Monday, likely intended as a signal to President Trump that they are capable of taking their position in the north seriously. As reported: “We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said when announcing the increased defense spending on Monday. A Danish populist politician in the European Parliament told Donald Trump to “fuck off” last week because Greenland is a long-established and appreciated part of the country. Yet paradoxically, having delivered this message in English, the lawmaker pivoted to speaking Danish and immediately started listing problems he perceived in Greenlandic society, which he said should be addressed. Among the criticisms he identified were corruption and widespread child sexual abuse by Greenlandic adults. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #11 (What Would James Monroe Do?) I like that! It is something to keep in mind. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2025-01-30 20:25 |
| #10 Watch Denmark billet them in private residences. To be fair, it wasn't too long ago that France airdropped an airstrip into an African country, I forget off the top of my head and search engines are retarded. That said, equatorial Africa would have better staging areas and weather than Greenland. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-01-30 20:22 |
| #9 ^ He's got a lot of troops from Africa. They'll freeze before they're kitted |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-01-30 20:07 |
| #8 Considering the last 12 months, I wouldn't put it past Macron to send an all-volunteer muslim brigade. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-01-30 20:04 |
| #7 Greenland is in North America, not Europe. The people of Greenland get to decide whether to stay a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark (which is what they currently are), become an independent country, become part of Canada, or join the United States. Based on everything I've read they will probably vote to become an independent country, but work closely with the United States and Canada. The Kingdom of Denmark is a colonial power, and did some messed up things there right up to living memory. (Between 1966 and 1970, 4,500 intrauterine devices were fitted into native women and girls as young as 13, without their knowledge or consent.) So Denmark acting like some kind of victimized spouse over the last few months is laughable. So: WWJMD France. (What Would James Monroe Do?) |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2025-01-30 19:25 |
| #6 Who was the chucklehead who was like, "Europe will defend all its borders, North, East, West, and South." Like bitch please, Europe's South Border? like Europe isn't overrun with Muslims and Africans. Shit, Macron just tried to pander to the young muslims by guesting on a shit podcast run by a host who is constantly talking about the glory of islaming France. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-01-30 13:01 |
| #5 I wonder what happens when they find out that the US isn't going to transport or support them there. It used to be that the Canadian military was considered competent but lacked transport which meant if it was an away game, they needed a ride to get to the scene. Do current Euro militaries have any expeditionary capability or are they basically territorial defense forces ready to continue the 20th century's tribal squabbles? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2025-01-30 11:53 |
| #4 ^Yea, against US. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-01-30 11:19 |
| #3 A week in office and Trump already has the Euros upping their military spending. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2025-01-30 09:42 |
| #2 Can't get them to protect themselves, but this they gotta do. I wonder what happens when they find out that the US isn't going to transport or support them there. They're angling for a buy-off. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2025-01-30 08:56 |
| #1 But, but, but - what about Ukraine?! |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-01-30 00:27 |