Foreign Digest: Greenland, Denmark, Germany and Syria

Greenland and Denmark: Donald Trump continues his threats to take Greenland, a self-governing territory that is a realm of the Kingdom of Denmark, either by forcing a sale or military action. Demark is an ally of the U.S. as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As such, it has long granted access to the U.S. for bases in Greenland, as the world’s largest island is strategically located in the Arctic Ocean across from the Russian Federation, which makes American acquisition of the territory unnecessary. The Danish territory also is near critical shipping lanes. Greenland, inhabited mostly by Inuit and colonized by the Danes since the 18th Century, is heavily subsidized by Denmark, but potentially has natural resources of great value, such as rare earth metals, which attracts Trump’s interest, in addition to its strategic location. Both the center-right government of Greenland and Denmark reject any takeover by the U.S. and insist on Greenland’s self-determination, including independence, which the government and other Greenlandic parties support. Trump’s threats violate international law and threaten the stability of NATO, the most successful defense pact in history, at a time of increased threat from Russian imperialism. America’s NATO allies have expressed support for Denmark and Greenland’s sovereignty. Trump has also made territorial demands against Panama, which has a pro-American center-right government, and Canada, a NATO ally. Germany: There were leftist attacks against the electrical system last week caused the worst blackout in Berlin since the early Cold War. There have been repeated attacks by leftists against Germany’s electrical system in recent months and years. The attacks jeopardize public safety. Syria: The U.S. conducted additional strikes last week against the Islamic State in Syria, with Jordanian participation and the cooperation of the Syrian Government. These were follow-up strikes to the ones conducted last month that I posted about in retaliation for a deadly attack by the Islamic State against American troops in Syria who are present to continue operations against the Suni Islamist terrorist organization that is a breakaway rival of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda had committed the deadliest terrorist attacks in history, killing nearly 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on America. The attacks sparked the Global War on Terrorism that the U.S. and its allies have conducted ever since, even though the name of the war has not been used since the administration of President George W. Bush. There are also American troops in Iraq as part of the mission against the two Islamist terrorist organizations. The Islamic State had declared a caliphate (a religiously authoritative government for Muslims) in Iraq and Syria in 2013. The U.S.-led international coalition of Arab and Western allies eliminated its territory and killed its leader, but like al-Qaeda, and whose safe harbor in Afghanistan had been eliminated in the War on Terrorism and whose leadership was also killed, remains a threat throughout the Islamic world.