Don’t put those placards away just yet
Trump-fuelled Greenland crisis now simmering after coming dangerously close to the boiling point
Jessica Kassar, left, and Tyler Kowalchuk march together in solidarity with Greenland, in Iqaluit last Saturday morning. (Photo by Daron Letts)
If you felt a rush of fresh air throughout the Arctic this week, it might have been the collective sigh of relief after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down from his threats to take over Greenland — “one way or the other.”
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said in a rambling 75-minute speech Wednesday to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, walking back weeks of aggressive talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland.
It was a dramatic turn of events. For weeks, Trump had been ramping up his rhetoric, saying the United States needs to take over Greenland. To assure its own national security, the U.S. needs to control Greenland to prevent Russia or China from moving in, Trump said.
His overheated talk was taken so seriously that seven NATO countries began a military exercise in Greenland.
World leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, stood firmly with Denmark, to the point there was serious, alarming talk about NATO allies being forced to engage in an armed conflict with the U.S.
But as Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric about the need to take over the Arctic island, public pressure mounted — just about everywhere — opposing it.
For Inuit and other Canadians, there’s a real fear that if the U.S. were to take Greenland to block Russia or China, how long would it be before Trump comes for the Canadian Arctic for the same reason.
Last week, approximately 100 Iqalummiut took to the streets to show their solidarity with Greenland. It happened at the same time that similar — but bigger — rallies were happening in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, and the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
On Tuesday, Nunavut MLAs built on that show of support by raising Greenland’s red and white flag in front of the legislative assembly.
Those actions were noticed around the world, and Nunavut voices were part of a growing chorus supporting Greenland.
Last weekend, the American Sunday morning TV shows were pointing to polls that suggested 75 per cent of Americans opposed the idea of taking Greenland by force and a healthy majority had no interest whatsoever in taking it over.
But demonstrators shouldn’t put away those placards quite yet.
Though Trump said Wednesday, in a surprise announcement, that he had the “framework” for a deal to get what his country needs from Greenland without having to take it over, he did not provide any details about that framework.
The American president’s claims aren’t always as advertised. You’ll recall he was going to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office … more than a year ago. In November, he boasted he was close to hammering out a 28-point peace plan to end that conflict. But the fighting continues.
It would be nice to think the mounting public pressure — including from protesters in Iqaluit, Nunavut MLAs and voices like Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed — played a part in forcing Trump to rethink his approach.
The easing of tensions that comes with Trump’s sudden about-face is welcome news.
But Trump’s unpredictable nature means it could be a long time before Greenlanders, Danes, Canadians and Europeans are confident that the Greenland crisis that came to a boil is actually simmering.
There’s a symbiosis between media and Trump, he wags the dog and media laps up the drama for readership and engagement.
Perfect example, right here. It’s a detestable dance and Corey (should) know what’s happening, but I suspect he’s willfully pretending because its good for business.
Yep. Corey left out the most important part: The rhetoric about ‘taking over Greenland’ was just another distraction to keep people’s mines off of the Epstein Files. Trump got what he wanted in Greenland. The Danes gave the US access to mining rights in Greenland.
I have known it and anyone with a half a mind would have known it as well. The United States has been trouble since forever. It is not nor should it be their business for to tell others how to run their own countries and affairs barring say genocidal as Israel is doing day in and out. The U. S. Governments in concert with their big corporate donors have been getting away with a lot too much for far too long. It has to end and that my fellow countrymen and women is our business.
There is no such ‘framework agreement’ since Rutte had no mandate to negotiate such, that neither Denmark nor Greenland were part of the discussion and nobody knows what are the terms of this supposed agreement. In all likelihood, it refers to the agreement reached in the 1950’s allowing the US to establish military bases in Greenland but, ironically, there were more than a dozen such bases in the past but there remains only one, Pituffik, formerly known as Thule. This agreement is still valid.
Yet, Canada is also on Trump’s list for annexation, again yesterday, he called Carney the governor of Canada. Our country has neglected its Arctic for a long time and the US has contested Canada’s sovereignty on part of Canada’s claim to the Arctic. So, yes, we are very vulnerable and this story is far from finished and we must remain vigilant, being stuck between a rock and a hard place, the US and the Russian Federation.
Why is an NN writer pretending to have insight into world affairs ? Does he/she have deep expertise in world history, geography, political systems and sovereign states?
Canada’s three territories and Greenland combined have a total population of less than 200,000 people. There are thirty cities in Canada with a population higher than that. Thousands in the world. The GDP of those territories combined is practically zero if government institutions and welfare are withheld. There’s hardly any defense infrastructure in all that and modest infrastructure beyond that. There is virtually no independent industry other than foreign-owned resource extraction.
The area of all that territory is more that 4 million square kilometers, half the size of the size of the rest of Canada, the USA or Europe.
Who owns Antarctica?
Nothing is going to happen, he’s just ruffling feathers and gets a kick out of the 10 ppl that stand in the street thinking thats going to do anything besides make them look like fools !