Just a week after calling Trump a rogue President, he goes rogue on Greenland, Europe and NATO.
It can’t be emphasised strongly enough. The US has no rights to Greenland and if Trump seizes it by force it would be the end of NATO. Europe would essentially be at war with the US. Incredible. Putin and Xi must be loving it and, consequently, the future of Ukraine and Taiwan now looks grim.
It is probably all negotiation tactics, but Trump cannot be allowed to treat allies like this. The US had 10,000 troops in Greenland which today is down to c150. It is partly America’s fault that currently Greenland is under defended. They could simply go back to having a larger military base.
Except… it is really Europe’s fault we are in this situation. Why leave it just to America to have a base there? There were apparently no NATO troops ex the US in Greenland. Last week in the face of Trump’s aggression, Britain has sent just one officer, France has sent 15 troops, Germany 13 and Norway two. 50 in all from Europe. Pathetic.
The only worthwhile legacy from Trump will be Europe getting its act together militarily.
In the meantime, I have just listened to Starmer’s statement on the crisis. Mealy mouthed triangulation. You can see why he fails to grasp the public’s imagination. His approach is no longer working. The US has just reneged on a tech agreement with the UK, negotiated in good faith, which we thought was in the bag. It is clear there is no longer any point in bending the knee to the US. Trump’s administration has provided much evidence that it just encourages greater contempt for ‘wishy, washy socialist’ Europe.
Europe needs to stand up to Trump once and for all. Any one party in the UK who doesn’t will not get my vote!
Inside Right Politics 