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Trump’s Absurd Remarks on Greenland Might Lead to Disintegration of US

Date: 24 August 2019 - 22:05

News ID: ۶۹۶۸۸

By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

With Donald Trump’s arrogant demand on purchase of Greenland dismissed as absurd by the prime minister of Denmark, there are talks in international circles of the eventual disintegration of America.
The problems of the US are caused not by a lack of territory but increasingly disjointed cultural identities. There’s only one solution. The Danes aren’t impressed. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: "Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland.”
The dotard sitting in the White House should know that Greenland is not just a place; it is a territory of 56,000 people who largely govern themselves—with a parliament and prime minister—other than in international affairs, which Copenhagen manages, though in consultation with the locals.
In fact, internationally Greenlanders are viewed as an independent people. The place is obviously strategic—it is close to America and hosts Thule Air Base. However, one should not oversell its value to American interests. The Washington Examiner grandly declared that Thule "gives the US military the means to deter and defeat prospective aggression.”
Aggression by whom? A sneak attack by the Russians or the Chinese launched from the Arctic seems, well, unlikely.
Trump called the Danish Prime Minister’s response "nasty” and impudently canceled a bilateral meeting with her government planned for next month.
Anyway, no one expects NATO member Denmark to hand over the island to a hostile power. Last year, Washington opposed Chinese financing of three airports, and Denmark’s government found other funders. Canada and Mexico are even more strategic and the US isn’t trying to buy them.
The US has long been concocting new schemes to expand the American Empire. In the early days, Washington conquered nearby territories; then it acquired more distant possessions. These days, outright aggression is frowned upon, so expansionists must be more nuanced. For instance, before the possibility of Canada dissolving was mooted, even Patrick Buchanan, who had long argued against America’s warfare state, listed the seceding pieces Washington should snag.
However, the US already is too big. With nearly 330 million people, there is no "national family.” California is a fabulous place, but a majority of its citizens want to base policy on dirigiste economics and identity politics. Why not let them go their own way, rather than whine when the Electoral College prevents them from imposing their self-absorbed fantasies on everyone else?
Equally caustic judgments could be made against other sections of America, such as the South, Rust Belt, and New England. Books have been written about breaking the US into pieces.
Thinking creatively could yield additional benefits. Why not sell off California to the highest bidder? That could raise a good chunk of money to pay down the national debt. Or even the Midwest, with its big agricultural production, would be in high demand. China might pay a hefty price—after all, it has a lot of people to feed!
There might even be a market for progressive enclaves: San Francisco, Austin, Madison, New York City, Atlanta, and more. Bundle them together and see what the market will bear.
Another alternative would be to have US communities go the way of Greenland—that is, become autonomous territories under Danish control. For example, Springfield or Virginia could offer to sell to Denmark. No more being forced to support the American imperium.
Trump should leave Greenland alone. It isn’t Denmark’s to sell and it isn’t in America’s interest to buy. The US’ problems have resulted not from a lack of territory, but from its transformation from a democratic republic to a global imperium.
No wonder Mute Bourup Egede, who heads a Greenland independence party, has truly observed: "America will always have an interest in Greenland. Our country will always be ours.” As it should be.