Europe 'Warns' Trump Over Greenland, Forgetting Their Own Imperial Past
The New Arab reports on Germany and Sweden warning Donald Trump against his 'threatening rhetoric' regarding Greenland, a territory he's again suggested the US should control. Germany's Foreign Minister expressed concern about 'nationalist fantasies,' while Sweden's Prime Minister condemned his 'threatening declarations.' One might wonder where this sudden aversion to territorial ambition was
during, say, the Scramble for Africa, or indeed, when Greenland itself was claimed by Denmark in the 18th century, a former colonial power. It appears that 'threatening rhetoric' is only threatening when it's not the rhetoric of their own historical empires. The outrage isn't about the act of acquisition, but presumably, the perceived vulgarity of the American doing the acquiring, or perhaps the
lack of a proper, civilized invasion-and-annexation process. These diplomatic warnings ring hollow when juxtaposed with the very real historical appropriations by European powers, often achieved with far more than mere threats. Perhaps the real threat isn't just Trump's rhetoric, but the world's conveniently short memory regarding whose borders were drawn by 'threats' in the first place.