Even by Trump’s standards, it is a grotesque distortion when he writes that it is a dangerous situation for the security and survival of “our planet” when eight NATO allies send a handful of soldiers to Greenland – which, mind you, is part of the alliance’s territory.
It is also not true that they are doing this with “unknown intent,” as he says. The eight countries, which include Germany, want to show that they are taking Trump’s legitimate questions about future security in the Arctic seriously; it is changing due to climate change and multipolarity. And they want to convince him that the West can better answer them together.
However, this attempt failed miserably. Trump’s resort to tariffs shows again that he simply doesn’t think in terms of alliances. He is not interested in a “rules-based” order.
Conversations would be better
The fact that the Italian Defense Minister was not wrong when he derided the deployment as “the beginning of a joke” was only confirmed by Berlin’s rapid withdrawal of the Bundeswehr. Europe cannot defend Greenland against Russia or China, especially not against an attempted takeover by America. It would be better to talk to Trump; that has already changed a lot on the Ukraine issue.
In this case, Europeans can even count on more support in Congress, including from Republicans. With a new round of tariff disputes, America and Europe are only weakening each other, something that should be reminded to all politicians in Washington who have not yet allowed their minds to be clouded by MAGA bigotry.
But you also have to take it to heart in Brussels. The European economy has more to lose than the American economy if the painstakingly reached trade agreement last summer fails. And strategically, you shouldn’t fool yourself: the Arctic is important, but the eastern flank is even more important for Europe’s security.
