The Geopolitical Yard Sale
Senator Lindsey Graham, apparently unburdened by geopolitical nuance, recently declared Greenland 'is behind us' and questioned 'who gives a s***' about its ownership. This came after former President Trump's rather explicit suggestion to purchase the territory from Denmark. The establishment media largely portrayed this as another instance of Trumpian eccentricity, an undiplomatic slip-up from a
politician prone to them. Yet, what's truly 'behind' these remarks is a profound, and historically consistent, disregard for the self-determination of smaller nations. This isn't a new phenomenon. In 1867, the United States bought Alaska from imperial Russia for $7.2 million, a land grab that set a precedent for viewing vast, resource-rich territories, and their indigenous populations, as
commodities. Graham’s flippancy isn't an anomaly; it's merely a more vulgar articulation of the same imperial logic that has driven powerful nations for centuries, viewing nations as disposable assets rather than sovereign entities or homes for distinct peoples. Curiously, the same voices that decry a foreign government’s influence over its neighbors become remarkably silent when Washington muses
about buying an entire nation or facilitating its 'democratization' through other means. The sheer audacity of suggesting a sovereign territory is simply 'property' to be bought and sold reveals a deep-seated double standard, where the rules of international law bend conveniently for those who write them. One might wonder who, in this scenario, actually 'gives a s***' about sovereignty when it’s