Trump got Greenland after everyone- the EU, Greenland, and Denmark said no. It’s done. We’ve not only agreed to terms; Greenland’s lawmakers voted to seal the deal.
ILULISSAT, Greenland (AP) — Greenlandic lawmakers on Tuesday voted to approve an agreement between the Arctic island, Denmark and the United States to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic after months of pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to control the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.
The trilateral deal paves the way for more U.S. bases in Greenland and eases tensions over Trump’s repeated calls for the vast island to become part of the United States. The agreement’s goal is to bolster the U.S. military presence on Greenland but keep the self-governing island under Danish control. It would still apply if Greenland eventually chooses independence.
Greenlandic lawmakers voted 16-0 for the agreement, with seven abstentions, in the capital city of Nuuk.
Seven Abstentions. That’s interesting. They didn’t vote yes, but they wouldn’t vote no. And, no, you can’t please everyone.
“Hopefully after this we won’t be getting underhanded threats from the American government,” the 28-year-old Ilulissat resident told The Associated Press in Ilulissat after the vote.
William Tukula, a 34-year-old chef in Ilulissat, said he’d seen posts on Facebook from older Greenlanders who were “a little bit scared about Trump and soldiers.”
“It’s a good deal for Denmark, NATO. Not a good deal for us,” he said. “There are no benefits, no money to our society. Zero.”
Denmark’s parliament must now take up the mantle and vote to approve it, and I’m not sure how Greenland won’t benefit. The US is supposed to employ local services and labor whenever possible. And even if they don’t build new bases or infrastructure, it would bring in thousands of people who need to eat, drink, live, and be entertained; it will add US dollars to the local economy.
Mining contracts will create jobs, generate more wealth, and, by extension, also bring revenue into Greenland’s economy.
You weren’t developing it, but we will, and you don’t need to call each other comrades.
You’ve secured an umbrella of protection that lasts even if Greenland votes to become independent of Denmark, which I get might be a sticking point. You can vote to be free from them, but not America. Maybe they don’t realize how much better off America is than EU-sick Denmark. How much better it can or will be as part of the Donroe Doctrine.
Europe can help or protect you from anything, and certainly not from itself.
Independence and an even closer relationship with the US might be the better choice. US states have more rights than Greenland has now.
Think about it.
