Donald Trump and Greenland, an absurd claim that tests our sanity

If a few years ago someone had told me that today I would be writing a reflection on the sovereignty of Greenland, I would have thought of Russia.

The two favors Trump is doing for Moscow under the guise of protecting Greenland from Russia
Vance's lie about an allied country to claim a part of its territory

Perhaps some haven't considered it, but Denmark is a NATO member country, and Greenland, a territory under Danish sovereignty, is protected by the 1949 Washington Treaty, which established the Alliance. According to Articles 5 and 6 of that Treaty, NATO would be obligated to respond if Greenland were to suffer an armed attack.

Until recently, the only thing one could expect was hostile action against Greenland by the USSR or Russia, that is, by a power that is not a member of NATO, that is hostile to this Alliance and that has the means and geographical proximity to try to seize that territory. But then Trump came along and decided to do Russia the great favor of sowing discord among allies, first by claiming Greenland "the easy way" or "the hard way" and now, in addition, imposing trade reprisals on the European countries that have come to Denmark's aid to safeguard its sovereignty over that island.

This course of action has begun to generate criticism even within the ranks of the Republican Party, the political platform on which Trump relied during his two runs for the US presidency. Yesterday, Republican Senator Thom Tillis wrote about these reprisals:

"This response to our own allies for sending a small number of troops to Greenland for training is bad for America, bad for American businesses, and bad for America's allies. It's great for Putin, Xi and other adversaries who want to see NATO divided. The fact that a small handful of "advisors" are actively pushing for coercive action to seize territory of an ally is beyond stupid. It hurts the legacy of President Trump and undercuts all the work he has done to strengthen the NATO alliance over the years."

I suppose Tillis wanted to protect Trump from the effects of his own decisions, but if the President of the United States decides to heed the nonsense of certain advisors, then he is just as responsible for the consequences as they are. The consequences are those that Republican senator has already pointed out. For now, Trump's decision has already served to pit allied countries against each other and undermine the Atlantic Alliance. Perhaps this doesn't seem important to some, but that Alliance has served to protect us from significant threats for decades. In a Europe with an inflamed Russian imperialism murdering civilians in Ukraine, destroying NATO from within is an irresponsible and suicidal policy. Something like this might be expected from a far-left government, but not from a conservative one.

NATO's raison d'être is very easy to understand: united we are stronger against those who threaten us, and it is they who wish to see us divided. The Kremlin must be thoroughly enjoying the mess Trump created with Greenland, almost as much as it must have enjoyed his backstabbing of Ukraine.

Of course, I know some will say that Spain has no business being in Greenland. That's not true: Greenland is the territory of an allied country with which we have a mutual defense commitment. It's the same commitment Spain would invoke if another country threatened to invade part of our territory. To believe that we are part of an alliance only to benefit from its advantages but not to fulfill our commitments is a shortsighted and petty attitude.

I don't expect the left to understand any of this. It has already demonstrated that its interest in defending the West is scant or nonexistent. What I expect from the right is the level-headedness that is so often lacking on the other side of the political spectrum. A level-headedness founded on solid principles, such as defending the West, supporting our allies, and committing to stand united against threats that are common to us all. Loyalty is repaid with loyalty, and those who act disloyally toward their allies, turning their backs on them when they ask for help, cannot expect loyalty in return.

Unfortunately, a segment of the right has decided to defend everything Trump does or says without the slightest critical thought, as if the current US president were always right and everything he said should be applauded, even when he threatens hostile actions against a loyal ally because he wants to seize part of its territory, betraying an Alliance signed in 1949 in the US capital itself. I never imagined that a vast, icy landscape like Greenland would test our sanity, but that is exactly what is happening. We have reached a point where it seems that principles no longer matter and all that matters is supporting everything Trump says or does, even if it's such colossal nonsense as what he's doing with Greenland.

I'm very clear on this. I'm right-wing, a liberal-conservative, I consider myself a patriot, and I see no need to support all of Trump's ideas. Moreover, I believe some of those ideas deserve outright rejection, such as his claim to Greenland. An absurd claim that creates an unnecessary conflict with an allied country and only benefits the enemies of the West, starting with the dictator Vladimir Putin.

---

Photo: Nettips / Pixabay.