Trump cancels Denmark visit due to Greenland controversy - Page 6 - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#15031151
Hindsite wrote:The Danish government should have known that Greenland is of strategic value to Russia and China and that it would make sense for the USA to want to acquire it first.


They could have gotten $500 billion for the strategic value alone. They could have paid off their national debt and they still would've had $400 billion left over. That's more than their entire gdp. And that's a lowball, with all the mineral deposits and offshore oil they could have gotten over a trillion. They could have taken that trillion and colonized Mars, they would be trading a frozen wasteland for solar system dominance. Those Danes sure don't think big. :lol:
#15031215
Hindsite wrote:True, but that would be expected of a first time politician. His naivete was mainly in thinking he could get along with anyone and win them over with his personality.

My comment was based on my utter lack of political experience too, and that would have been one of the first acts as president would I ever be crazy enough to run and lucky enough to win. However, I would have been blindsided by the Russiagate thing too, which is why I think much of the government simply needs to be dismantled at this point. It's simply too corrupt to be saved.

However, Trump is an absolute master troll and he does it in a way to get the establishment to reveal their true character. That Westerhout gal is a case in point--why would you hire someone that was a fan of Hillary Clinton? Does't make sense.

Sivad wrote:It's not absurd, probably something like half of US soil was purchased from other countries.

Right. The Louisiana purchase, the Gadsden purchase and the Alaska purchase were substantial acquisitions of territory by sale. Louisiana and Alaska were entirely peaceful too.

Godstud wrote:The PM of Denmark called it absurd, and it is.

Denmark sold the US Virgin Islands to the United States. It's not without precedent even for Denmark. It's not like Denmark has done much with Greenland anyway. It's defense is dependent on the United States, like so much of Europe. If you want to talk about absurd, maybe start there.

Godstud wrote:Pretending the world, and geopolitics, is the same way it was 150 years ago, or further back, is absurd. Pretending otherwise is ridiculous.

Who's pretending? Denmark sold the US Virgin Islands to the US during WWI. In the last 50 years, borders have continued to change. The breakup of the Soviet Union spawned 15 different countries; yet, Russia simply seized and annexed Crimea during Obama's presidency. Now they don't get to go to G7 meetings, because the idea of a "rules-based" system doesn't seem to excite the Russians. The former Yugoslavia dissolved into 5 different countries. The US granted independence to the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia. Czechoslovakia divided into two separate countries. East and West Germany re-united. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia. East Timor declared independence from Indonesia. South Sudan broke off from Sudan. Things change all the time Godstud.

Maybe we should offer to give them Puerto Rico. :lol:

Sivad wrote:Buying territory is a hell of a lot more civilized than taking it by force and countries still do that.

I know. Right? Leave it to @Godstud to declare the most peaceful and equitable way to acquire land "absurd." It's how the private market functions on a daily basis. :roll:

Pants-of-dog wrote:What is absurd is to refuse to go on a state trip because the Danes did not treat it as a serious bid.

And the Danish government had no reason to treat it seriously since the residents of Greenland were not consulted.

He hadn't prepared a serious bid that we can ascertain. Trump comes up with unorthodox ideas, sometimes to troll his own staff to see if they will leak to the press. I posted on here some time ago that he could just come up with something outlandish and say it with limited people in the room and thereby figure out the identity of the leaker. Everyone but the leaker is in the know, and the leaker thinks it's a real idea. He got Westerhout out that way.
#15031251
The Denmark PM called it right. ABSURD. All the Trumpanzees are just leaping to the defense of a stupidly anti-diplomatic statement, as expected. The dumbing down of America is working. :knife:
#15031262
Rich wrote:It doesn't look very Green. It makes you wonder why it was called Greenland in the first place.

It was first permanently settled by europeans during the medieval warm period by Erik the Red. It probably was quite green on the southern shores then. It was abandoned by the Norse when the little Ice Age started in the 15th century. The inuit stayed though.
#15031265
SolarCross wrote:It was first permanently settled by europeans during the medieval warm period by Erik the Red. It probably was quite green on the southern shores then.

No it can't have been. Temperatures are significantly higher now than at any time in the last thousand years. To believe anything else is blasphemous. If Erik the Red thought it was green he must have been hallucinating. The idea is totally absurd, it would totally contradict the Hockey Stick Graph, which we know was created by scientists with the highest integrity.
#15031289
blackjack21 wrote:The Louisiana purchase, the Gadsden purchase and the Alaska purchase were substantial acquisitions of territory by sale. Louisiana and Alaska were entirely peaceful too.

Denmark sold the US Virgin Islands to the US during WWI... The US granted independence to the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia.

Maybe we should offer to give them Puerto Rico. :lol:

The U.S. returned control of the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, to Japan in 1971 under President Nixon. I was stationed on Okinawa in 1966 and the U.S. dollar was used everywhere.
#15031295
Hindsite wrote:The U.S. returned control of the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, to Japan in 1971 under President Nixon. I was stationed on Okinawa in 1966 and the U.S. dollar was used everywhere.

Indeed. The US also granted independence to the Philippines. When the Philippines asked us to leave Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base, we left those behind too. Now their defense is a little more imperiled and China feels fine building military islands in the Spratlys.
#15031923
Beren wrote:Maybe the Danish PM would be tempted to consider such an offer if it was offered by Canada. Justin's so irresistible.

If they did, then they would be able to meet the NATO 2% GDP spending on defense. Denmark pledges to increase spending from 1.17 percent of GDP in 2017 to 1.3 percent by 2023 — and to do so slowly, with 60 percent of the increase coming in 2022 and 2023. The Danes are basically daring Trump to give them a pass on the goal of 2 percent by 2024 and aim to wait him out.
#15031929
@Hindsite What's the burning need for 2% of GDP being in military? The USSR is no longer a factor. Europe is more peaceful than at any time in its history. This is a non-issue, only meant as a ploy and chip to argue that NATO was no longer viable. The USA more than meets those requirements, since it's still striving to be a world military power, on it's own. Many other countries see alliances as more important than individual might.
#15031973
Godstud wrote:@Hindsite What's the burning need for 2% of GDP being in military? The USSR is no longer a factor. Europe is more peaceful than at any time in its history. This is a non-issue, only meant as a ploy and chip to argue that NATO was no longer viable. The USA more than meets those requirements, since it's still striving to be a world military power, on it's own. Many other countries see alliances as more important than individual might.

If the countries no longer want to contribute their agreed upon commitment to a NATO alliance, then they should leave. And if no country believes there is a need for NATO, then it should be abandoned. That seems to be President Trump's view because the American people do not want to have to continue paying much more of our tax money to protect Europe, when they are not willing to keep their commitment. I would be very happy if Trump pulled all our troops out of Europe and transferred the resources to building a border wall and defending our own country against invasion. I am also in favor of President Trump ordering all our companies back home.
#15031981
Pants-of-dog wrote:In fact, the USA should close all their military bases around the world.

I would not go that far as yet, but we certainly don't need all those military bases in Europe, especially in Germany. I was stationed in Germany once, so I have a first hand perspective on that matter. It is about time that the European countries provide enough defense for their own people.
#15032037
@Hindsite Fact: USA did not pay for the others and so there was no loss to the USA. All other countries still managed to meet NATO requirements. Not all countries are war-mongering countries like the USA, that need a base in almost every country in the world, and that spends more money on its military than the next 25 most powerful countries, combined.

USA is not in Germany to protect Europeans but to project power. When USSR died, the need for NATO to be so powerful, declined drastically.
#15032050
Godstud wrote:@Hindsite Fact: USA did not pay for the others and so there was no loss to the USA. All other countries still managed to meet NATO requirements.

False. All other countries have not managed to meet the 2% GDP requirements for NATO defense, whereas, the USA has been contributing more than the required 2%. That is why President Trump has called them out on it.
HalleluYah
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