this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2025
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[–] [email protected] 147 points 4 days ago (2 children)

...Trump took the unprecedented step of refusing to rule out military action to take territory from a Nato ally...

what. the. fuck.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 days ago (3 children)

i'm guessing that ~~he~~putin thinks that doing so would be enough to break apart the alliance or get the u.s. kicked out.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 days ago (2 children)

That would definitely do it. With the way Trump is talking Denmark might end up being forced to expel the US military from Thule to avoid a Chrimea scenario.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

What even happens if one NATO member attacks another? Does the aggressor immediately get their membership nullified and the rest must come together and declare war on them?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

NATO immediately loses all credibility. Otherwise, nothing much.

NATO was founded as a defensive pact against the Soviet Union.
The only time it was ever used was as a tool by the US to force other countries to join the war in Afghanistan.
Article 5 isn't an automatism that forces all members to start an all-out war. They're still sovereign.

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[–] Mirshe 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I mean, it's never happened. But the US declaring war on Danish territory would violate Article 5.

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[–] booganiganie 35 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Greenland joins US. Existing Greenland people not born in US. Deported coz not a citizen.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

Seized lands auctioned off to highest corporate bidders along with liberal rights. Exploitation of the wilderness destroys it. Capitalism and oligarchy destroys another piece of our world.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

Wow. You are so right.

[–] [email protected] 88 points 4 days ago (5 children)

I hope NATO responds… but is this partially an effort to weaken and distract NATO so it’s easier for Putin to have his way with Europe?

[–] [email protected] 42 points 4 days ago

Very likely to be.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

A "world leader", ladies and gentlemen.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

The US congress must approve a declaration of war. Here is to hoping that there are enough sane senators left. Nobody wants this war, but if Europe doesn't stand up to bullies, we're doomed to be taken advantage of further. This is a challenge that will define a generation of European leadership.

I also find it delightfully ironic that the US now risks invading Denmark and it's up to the rest of EU to stand up against it when Denmark spied for the US on the rest of the EU between 2012 and 2014 and were caught red handed.

Just goes to show the old lesson of what the US does to its allies once they're no longer useful.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The Iraq War proved that Congress doesn't have the balls to insist on that point of order.

[–] shalafi 18 points 3 days ago

And Korea, and Vietnam, and...

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I don't think it'll start with a formal declaration. He won't get that.

I think he'll order the military to stop paying for the US military base in Greenland without leaving, then have them expand operations outside of the agreement to provoke a response.

This will of course make every other country far less likely to renew or grant leases for US military bases and reduce US global military hegemony. But nobody driving this is thinking that far ahead.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

every other country far less likely to renew or grant leases for US military bases are reduce global military hegemony. But nobody driving this is thinking that far ahead.

Oh I suspect some of the people driving this are getting exactly what they paid for.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName 4 points 3 days ago

The puppet masters sure, but the puppet has no idea.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 days ago (4 children)

We haven't declared war since WW2. The President can launch an attack without needing Congress backing for ~90 days if I remember correctly. I'm hoping he isn't dumb enough to do so, but he may get drunk one night and set it off while bitching on truth social at 1 in the morning and make a drunken phone call because he's not mentally stable.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

He doesnt drink, this is all his regular brainwaves. :(

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[–] MothmanDelorian 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is an example of flooding the zone with shit do we talk about this and not the confirmations or the ICE raids.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 days ago

And you know he’s escalating because his narcissistic personality hates being told no, especially on such a public stage.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

this idiot knows the British and french have nukes, right?

[–] athairmor 45 points 4 days ago (5 children)

I wonder what the real problem play is here.

  • Distraction to soak up outrage and attention?
  • Actual desire to take Greenland because they global warming will unveil riches beneath the ice?
  • Naively thinking NATO will abandon the USA as quickly as Trump would abandon NATO?
  • Thinking they can divert NATO defenses to Greenland instead of Ukraine?

No scenario seems like a smart play but that’s MAGA for you.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 days ago (2 children)
  • Dementia-addled brain latches onto a stupid obsession for random reasons and everyone ends up trying to figure out what 4-D chess move is really behind it.

It's still a problem the world needs to deal with, but I don't think it's as deep as everyone thinks.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 days ago

I agree. He just wants to have it because he floated the idea once and people disagreed with him. The dangerous part is when it eventually becomes an embarrassment to him because Denmark and the EU won't budge.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago

I think that invading greenland is an effective way to destroy nato. Russia and China would be pleased.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago

Its a smart play for china.

China will be happy to pump this with trump.

Trump will happily be told by china he can have it if they can have Taiwan. He won't care about the second part, just hearing he is ok to proceed will send him signing orders

Then Europe/NATO will object complain, block fight etc.

Suddenly dollar isn't the Petro dollar anymore because of their stability issues. China will step up and trumpet themselves as the stable one so use them.

Once Petro dollar isn't USA anymore all hell breaks lose economy wise.

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[–] BlackPenguins 30 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

Why do we want Greenland anyway? It's the icy one, right?

No but serious question. What value does it have?

[–] shalafi 46 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Mineral and oil extraction made easier by global warming. But the real prize is open shipping lanes over the Arctic.

Here's a great break down of the economics:

https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/23/the-arctic-climate-changes-great-economic-opportunity

[–] Sludgehammer 39 points 3 days ago

Well that's nice and all, but IMO the real reason is Trump got laughed at last term when he suggested buying Greenland, and now he has to buy it to show how good of an idea it was and that he totally wasn't upset by the mocking. Like when you tell a toddler not to do something and they immediately start doing it more.

[–] BlackPenguins 17 points 3 days ago

Well damn this is depressing. Leave it to humans to capitalize on a dying earth.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It looks big on the map, trump thinks he's about to gain 50% more land for america

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 days ago (5 children)

Resources, north sea access, missile defense.

It's dumb but with climate change it's valuable territory, geopolitically.

The stupidity is we already have all the military stuff we need there, and long standing agreements.

It's also Denmark's so we should fuck off.

In addition to it not being for sale, Annexation is bullshit because it doesn't provide proper representation to those that live there. The whole country was formed with ideas of representation and taxation in mind (albeit quite imperfectly). Anywhere the US flag flies, those under it should get full rights and powers as a citizen.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Northwest Passage claim

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[–] Maggoty 23 points 4 days ago (12 children)

Why does everyone keep taking Trump at face value? His security concerns are a cover for the resources American companies want to extract from Greenland.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

Time to go see if China are interested in building some military bases on Greenland. Same thing for Panama for that matter. Maybe Canada wants some help as well?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No one dares to say something.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 days ago

The handlers will just let Donny play in a protected playpen and scream and shout all he wants and they'll throw in a stuffed toy or a plastic toy he can easily break and get his frustrations out.

The problems will start when little Donny will start to get out of control and start pushing buttons he isn't supposed to have access to.

Hopefully, the Nuclear Football is baby proofed enough to keep us all alive.

[–] fox2263 18 points 3 days ago (2 children)

He has his loyalists in power. No one to say no to him and that will follow his orders.

He cycled through a lot of staff last time round

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[–] vzq 15 points 4 days ago (3 children)
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