Let’s assume the mad man-child Trump orders a military invasion of Greenland, and NATO says no, and sends military forces to cut ours off. Or even goes in to kick them out. Some believe it would be the end of the alliance. Some say if NATO were to, as Trump perhaps believes wimp out it might still be the end. Personally I think not, but while NATO has (fairly quietly) been preparing for an alliance that no longer includes the U.S. it would be significantly weaker. Because of Greenland? What the hell?
Still, it begs the question of ‘What then?’ Putin wants NATO shattered but he might settle for a version he believes is too weak to stand up to him. Still, having ground down his military capability fighting Ukraine, a Europe who knows he won’t stop with Ukraine would engage there. So, Putin needs a partner. What if his plan is to link arms with TRUMP to form an alliance with the United States? A Russia-United-States-Alliance, or for short RUSA? Call me crazy, and send the men with their little white coats but I think Putin and Trump have secretly talked about exactly that.
Greenland. People are at their wit’s end over why the hell Trump is making such a fuss about it. It can, as it has in the past serve as an important place for our own and NATO’s security. Trump says Greenland can’t defend itself from an attack by Russia or China. It can’t. Not on it’s own nor can Denmark, which Greenland is technically part of. However, since they are part of NATO neither Russia or China would dare try to take it over. Greenland doesn’t have any value for Putin other than suddenly it’s become a flashpoint, just like the Cold War would get “hot” in places now and then. For his part, Putin claims talk of Russia trying to take over Greenland is all lies. You can read what he has to say about the prospect in this Reuters article.
For once Putin (probably) isn’t lying. If my theory is correct he doesn’t need to. (Not to mention he doesn’t have the military capability) Greenland doesn’t physically have much of anything Putin needs other than its location. However it’s a long ways off by both sea and air. It’s only ‘value’ is diplomatic/strategic and that’s where Trump, who it seems is still his puppet comes in. I find it hard to believe Trump got the idea of taking over Greenland on his own. It was suggested to him. From where I sit it’s easy to believe Putin is the one who convinced Trump that a) the United States HAD to have it, and b) that grabbing it would be easily the the diplomatic consequences would quickly subside. I’ll not get into any additional enticements or pressure/coercion Putin might have brought to bear. However Trump has been floating this crap for a long time and more recently passed the tipping point. NOW he feels like he’d look weak and stupid if he abandoned the idea. He would. And that friends is why we have an actual problem on our hands.
We don’t need control of, much less ownership of Greenland. We never have. They’ve always been willing to work with us. Greenland has some minerals we’d like to have access to. But they always have been and would be receptive to working out an agreement with the U.S. for mineral rights. They’d be equally amenable to us expanding our base there for Arctic/Cold Weather training (logistically easier than Alaska for joint exercises with allies), establish a more robust naval base etc. But again, when it comes to Trump’s claim that Russia and China want it, well sure they’d like to have it. However it’s way the hell off from their shores, just as it is from ours. What it’s NOT way the hell off from is our solid (or used to be) ally CANADA which is also a NATO member. If Russia or China tried to invade and establish a presence there Canada would be the anvil and the European countries in NATO as well as the U.S. would be the hammer to smash them. Russia is no match for NATO and Putin knows it. Neither is China and Xi knows it but unlike Russia China is getting to a point where we have to take the threat quite seriously. Not yet though.
However if Trump decides the U.S. is going to “have” Greenland “one way or the other” it puts an alliance that has kept both the old USSR and China at bay for over seventy years in an awkward position. Not to mention the fractures it would create in our own military. It’s worth noting that while Truman signed the original NATO treaty, a month later the Senate approved it by an overwhelming margin. Eighty-something votes worth. That makes it the law of the land. That also, absent a vote from Congress makes sending in U.S. Troops to invade and take over Greenland, to haul down their flag and hoist the Stars & Stripes an act of war. An ILLEGAL war. Which means anyone in the military who took part would be carrying out an ILLEGAL order!
That’s been a hot topic lately due to actions in another place where Team Trump has been carrying out acts of at best dubious legality under international law. I saw a retired General turned pundit who’d served (he said) about a third of his career in Europe agree with another pundit that an order to take over Greenland by force would be illegal. Few are saying it publicly, at least so far. But I’ll bet plenty of retired Generals and Admirals are burning up the phone lines to colleagues still serving asking “What the f**k is wrong with you for letting things get to this point?” Whether anyone at the WH will take their calls is doubtful. But soon, as in this week we need Congress Critters in both the House and the Senate to be railing at the top of their lungs that what Trump says he wants to do is more than madness – it violate U.S. Law! AND that troops who participate, even in planning would be guilty of carrying out an ILLEGAL ORDER.
Yes, stir up some good trouble by forcing the public, including and especially their families and friend to ask there service members tp think about the consequences. That what Trump wants to do is ILLEGAL, and that the time could come when they would face Court Martial.
All this is exactly the kind of chaos Putin wants to see. He’s never, ever given up his dream of re-creating the old USSR. We talk about Trump’s slide into dementia and even wonder if he’s dipped into plain old madness. Putin is no spring chicken and his own delusions of grandeur might have him slipping over the line too. A couple of things are worth keeping in mind.
First, Russia has a centuries long history of having a massive inferiority complex. By land it’s the largest country in the world and blessed with abundant natural resources. Unlike the U.S. with a far more temperate climate theirs are more difficult to get to/extract but it’s always been there. They are tough, and smart and proud. Yet despite those vast borders an accident of geography prevented them from developing into a seafaring nation. Lack of access to large, year round ports has limited them in both trade and projecting military power. They look at us, with our own resources and TWO long, long coasts plus the gulf of Mexico with year round access to international shipping (both receiving and sending goods) and resent the hell out of us.
Then we turned the tide for Europe in WWI and became a truly dominant player on the world stage. (Then blew it when isolationists took control but that’s another story) From the days of Lenin Russia has tried to knock us down. For the better part of seven decades they tried to infiltrate and take over the Democratic Party and failed. Turned out all they needed was someone like Trump who could swallow the GOP whole! For so much of my life I recall recall conservatives attacking Democrats (including me personally, even when I was an active duty Marine) as being partially controlled by ‘Commies/Ruskees. We resisted Communist attempt to gain real influence in our Party. Because Trump told them to those same conservatives allowed it to happen in a few short years to the GOP.
Still, for all his attempts Trump could only damage NATO but not permanently. Incredibly, Greenland might Putin feels give him his long dreamed of chance to destroy, or severely diminish NATO. AND to have the United States isolated in the world. We will need an ally and Putin I think is ready to make the final “closing” sales pitch to Trump to form a formal, U.S. and Russia “partnership.” It would be easy for him to convince Trump the two of them would be equals. Everyone else knows better. Trump has kowtowed to Putin from the beginning and would continue to do so
Again, call me crazy for suggesting all this. Including the idea that Putin wants to re-create not just his own version of the USSR but new version of the Warsaw Pact only with the United States being part of IT instead of whatever is left of NATO. However I hope you will think about it. Yes, it’s a theory but one I say fits the facts as we know them. I don’t see it actually happening but I can see all kinds of damage taking place, some of which might be repairable but some not. The first it a difficult thing to have to think about. The second is a terrible thing for the U.S. and the world. All because we have a major political Party composed almost exclusively of gutless sycophants who have sold their souls to Satan’s demon-seed Donald Trump.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Gog Magog… makes sense now.