Island’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling.

  • meat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    12 hours ago

    The Greenland government’s statement said it “would not be proportionate” to demand the equipment be removed.

    Have they learned nothing? Trump will keep taking more, inch by inch, until he feels consequences. His poll numbers are at historic lows, and he is busy with Iran, now is the time to stand up to this menace.

    • Tango@piefed.ca
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      8 hours ago

      The fact that he’s busy with Iran is half the reason this is happening. Trump needs a win and probably reckons that he can quickly drive a tit-for-tat escalation over Greenland oil rights in time for the US midterm elections. Right now, his approval ratings are in the toilet, even to a certain extent with voters who have voted for him before… and it’s not because his voters disapprove of his law enforcement policies or because of his being all over the Epstein files. It’s because right now he’s demonstrating major weakness in Iran. He looks weak, and that’s the one thing he can’t afford to be seen to be.

      My point is that he obviously sees Greenland as a quick win. He has some basis for this opinion: Europe is currently hopelessly dependent on the USA for our security. We’re working on fixing that, but aside from a few exceptions, we’ve only been working on it for a few years; we haven’t spent decades preparing for a “what if the USA tries to fuck us?” scenario the way Iran has. The USA is busy with Iran, but we’re busy with Russia in a way that the USA simply isn’t. Right now the EU has Russia sniffing around its eastern border, and a sudden US rug-pull could be disastrous. Both sides are aware of that, which is why the EU has been trying de-escalation so far.

      Trump, like Putin, will keep pushing for as long as he’s allowed - but the solution of “stand up to him” only works if we can follow through. You don’t pull a gun if you’re not willing to fire it. Acting tough now and then quickly capitulating later wouldn’t help, so the key question is “if we push back and Trump doesn’t back down, can we put our money where our mouth is? How far are we willing to go with this if it turns into brinksmanship?”. I honestly don’t know what the answer to that question is, but European strategists are better briefed on the logistics of the situation than I am, so hopefully they do, and react accordingly. I suspect that the European response will be subtle but firm, moving JUST ENOUGH resources into Greenland’s vicinity to let Trump know that if he DOES try something, it would get messy and wouldn’t be over quickly enough to give him the quick boost he’s looking for.

    • Major_Tsiom@fedia.io
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      12 hours ago

      I’d just let that shit sit there and keep telling them “we’re working on it” with the approval process. I would definitely keep stalling until November to see what happens.

        • N0t_5ure@lemmy.world
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          11 hours ago

          You’re spot on. They’re going to do whatever they want, and if their exploratory wells prove reserves Trump will just declare Greenland part of the U.S. and that’s that. There is already a U.S. base on the island and it will be manned with sufficient troops to suppress dissent.

          • metermatic26@lemmy.worldOP
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            9 hours ago

            Except it won’t really be the end of it and therein lies the risk. Trump maybe thinking that since the US has a base on the island and the Greenlanders have no army of their own, that the island is technically already his. It’s exactly the kind of incompetence and stupidity that got him entrenched in a forever war with Iran.

            And just like Iran made a mistake by not posing a credible threat, Europe is far to lenient when it comes to threats like these. If Europe doesn’t respond with threats of their own, Dementia Donnie might actually start a second European war in Greenland.

            I say second, because there is no way Trump is going to end the Iran-war before the midterm elections, even though he seems to think so.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            10 hours ago

            I don’t think Trump is ready for the shitshow that will cause. Eu has decided to support Greenland, and the response was readied already last year. If USA does this it will be completely devastating to relations between USA and EU. Resulting in a trade war like never seen before. And it will utterly destroy NATO.

  • Archimedes@sh.itjust.works
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    11 hours ago

    They can be arrested and charged and the equipment seized.

    What they are doing is a crime after all.