US - Greenland Crisis Thread

[Legbiter]

I agree that military strength is vital and needs to be I agree that military strength is vital and needs to be greatly improved, but I don't think there will be time for that. And since we've had stupid defense policies in the non-Finnish Nordics for decades, we might be in the same inevitability

If Greenland looks like bad television (dead Chinese troops) then Xi Jinping will shift his attention to, say, bombing Iran. The Allies can't stop his newfound HOI IV love but we can curate his menu. At least make Xi have to park the Fujian along with an entire naval task force off of Greenland.

[Admiral Yi]

I think Minnesotans have leverage since a pretty big majority of the state's citizens disagree with ICE's methods. Strikes, civil disobedience, protests, violence are all potential options to confront Trump's agenda and make him back down.

I think Greenland/Denmark/EU partners have leverage in terms of economic retaliation, military escalation and US public opinion to confront Trump's agenda and make him back down.

Of course as I mentioned I think your president is unhinged, suffering from dementia and is a narcissistic sociopath so who knows if he views any of this as leverage.

I think my president is unhinged, suffering from dementia and is a narcissistic sociopath so I think the threat of impeachment constitutes leverage and ICE protests do not.

[The Brain]

We'll see how this one ages:

[Legbiter]

Denmark should buy a few of those. It seems somewhat inexplicable that Royal Danish Navy no longer has subs. 

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

We'll see how this one ages

Probably not well.  The Navy always conducts these exercises with at least one hand tied behind its back, because they want to see what happens when things go wrong.  Then the media gets a hold of these stories and runs with it as if the Navy is trying at 100%.

[Zoupa]

Sometimes yes. And sometimes a 30 year old small french sub can sink the Eisenhower so hard that the yanks ask for the AAR to be taken down from the French Navy's website. 

[Jacob]

Legbiter, how is the "Iceland as the 51st state" joke from the incoming US ambassador being received in Iceland?

[Valmy]

Legbiter, how is the "Iceland as the 51st state" joke from the incoming US ambassador being received in Iceland?

That doesn't surprise me. In the right wing dream map Iceland is part of the US.

Kind of pleasantly surprised they want to grant Iceland statehood though.

[Oexmelin]

I think my president is unhinged, suffering from dementia and is a narcissistic sociopath so I think the threat of impeachment constitutes leverage and ICE protests do not.

This would mean that you do think the President does have all the power he claims to have.

[Admiral Yi]

This would mean that you do think the President does have all the power he claims to have.

Please elaborate.

[Legbiter]

Legbiter, how is the "Iceland as the 51st state" joke from the incoming US ambassador being received in Iceland?

About as well as you'd expect. US ambassador formally summoned and asked to clarify these remarks. Angry statements at the Althing, loathsome antediluvian commies dredged up from the bowels of the earth by the media to say in a creaky voice that they're finally vindicated(!), petition to deny his credentials, the works.

Mind you, he's still an improvement over the mentally unstable dermatologist donor Trump sent us last time.

'Edit* He said Iceland would become the 52nd. state after Greenland.

[Oexmelin]

It means you consider the only possible ways to influence Trump is to defer to things that he claims influences him, or behaves as such: bribes, or flattery - or perhaps the broken institutions he has subverted anyway.

This narrows the spectrum of politics to existing broken institutions, or to de facto monarchical politics.

I know you reject protests as a form of power, or leverage - so I won't get into that. But the result is that it leaves very little "ins" to politics, and abandons the idea that power belongs to the people, however ethereal that may seem.

To make an analogy, in 1774-1775, one could certainly argue (and many did) that the best way to solve the American crisis was to send lobbyists to the king; others, could certainly argue (and many did) you had to work with the corrupt British Parliament. None of these options took very seriously the idea that power belongs to the people, which certainly constrained what were deemed acceptable, possible, or legitimate actions. 

[Legbiter]

Probably the biggest consequence is totally demoralizing the Independence Party, the center-right bulwark of local politics. The pipe-smoking, boring line-go-up pro-American force in local politics.

[Legbiter]

Best one so far. 

[Admiral Yi]

It means you consider the only possible ways to influence Trump is to defer to things that he claims influences him, or behaves as such: bribes, or flattery - or perhaps the broken institutions he has subverted anyway.

This narrows the spectrum of politics to existing broken institutions, or to de facto monarchical politics.

I know you reject protests as a form of power, or leverage - so I won't get into that. But the result is that it leaves very little "ins" to politics, and abandons the idea that power belongs to the people, however ethereal that may seem.

To make an analogy, in 1774-1775, one could certainly argue (and many did) that the best way to solve the American crisis was to send lobbyists to the king; others, could certainly argue (and many did) you had to work with the corrupt British Parliament. None of these options took very seriously the idea that power belongs to the people, which certainly constrained what were deemed acceptable, possible, or legitimate actions.

If by "the broken institutions he has subverted anyways" you mean things like the DOJ, FBI, Congress, and the electoral system, then yes, you are right.  If all those things fail to save us, our only options are civil war/political violence, or people power style mass demonstrations.