The latest developments in Greenland leave little room for misinterpretation. The US and Europe are heading toward an unprecedented conflict and rift. The united West is one step away from dissolution, with Europeans promising that their response to the tariffs and Trump's broader policy on Greenland will be intense and decisive. But Trump is not only taking on the Europeans, whom he threatens with economic collapse. He is also "fighting" within the US against the Deep State, attempting to realize what he promised his voters: to make America great again. There is no doubt that within this chaos, the current global balance of power is being overturned and new poles of power are emerging, with consequences affecting other "hot fronts" on the planet, such as the war in Ukraine and a future crisis in Taiwan.
The impregnable fortress
The "impregnable fortress," Greenland, found itself in serious danger. Initially, European soldiers intended to defend this citadel of democracy from Trump and landed a "strong" group of their soldiers on the island. From Norway and Finland came two soldiers each; from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, one soldier; Sweden promised some; fifteen came from France, and about as many from Germany. And that was almost all of them. The area of Greenland is over two million square kilometers. However, the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan once managed to defend all of La Rochelle for hours. Here, it seemed that something similarly heroic would happen.
Trump's tariffs
The US President, observing all this fuss, simply asked when it would be convenient for the Europeans to discuss Greenland's integration into the US because his Coca-Cola was getting warm. On the other side of the Atlantic, they fell silent in terror. Without waiting for an answer, Trump indifferently announced that he would punish with 10% tariffs all countries that dared to send soldiers to Greenland. Within hours, all German soldiers—fifteen in total—left the island. Germany's Ministry of Defense issued an urgent decree characterizing their mission as complete. Bundeswehr representatives confidently stated that the soldiers successfully fulfilled all their missions.
Crack in the defense
Thus, a crack was created in Greenland's defense, and there is concern that the island will soon lose its strategic importance for the Europeans. But what about the tariffs? For Germany, the additional 10% tariffs on export volume could bring losses of up to 15 billion euros annually, while the country is already in crisis. In other EU member states, the situation is even worse. From June 1, the tariffs will increase to 25%. There must be an answer, because the rapid flight of European military personnel from Greenland will probably not soften the president. "Daddy will punish."
Reaction
The Europeans reacted dynamically. First, they held an emergency meeting of ambassadors in Brussels. Second, Macron presented, uncovered, and promised to use a powerful "trade bazooka"—a set of European sanctions and restrictions against the US. Finally, Belgium's Minister of Defense announced that he has a Plan B in case the US occupies Greenland, without revealing details. If Belgium has become enraged, we better leave, boys.
Americans are laughing
In the US, they are openly laughing at the Europeans' efforts. If they make "Daddy" angry, Trump will simply close the American market to them, and then the EU economy will collapse. As for the unfortunate European soldiers in the snows of Greenland, not a word. "Let's crush them like beetles!" comments Fox News. Donald Trump is now, before our eyes, opening the door to world history. If he manages to incorporate Greenland, he will gift his country wealth from precious metals and rare earths, an exceptional springboard in the Arctic for controlling the trade route from China to Europe, as well as strategic space for the deployment of anti-aircraft systems, completing the "Golden Dome" system.
Gift
The US had not received such a gift in over a century. The last territorial annexation took place under Woodrow Wilson—in 1917, he bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark. This year, the US celebrates 250 years since its founding. The president could not give a better gift to his homeland. And the price—$700 billion—is small compared to the benefits Greenland can bring to Americans. The Europeans are left watching with weak rage; they have neither economic nor military means against Washington. Appeals to international law are futile; Trump treats it like Abraham Lincoln, who had neutralized the Supreme Court during the Civil War. For him, the country's interest transcends every formality—he has been called to make America great again.
Taking on the Deep State in the US
At the same time, however, Trump continues to take on his opponents within the US. As it became known, the US Department of Justice opened an investigation against the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, and the mayor of the state's largest city—Minneapolis—Jacob Frey. Both are positioned by the Deep State. In this State, a civil war has been going on for several weeks. And there are already victims. The day before yesterday, a crowd almost tore Jake Lang apart. Lang is a MAGA activist, a well-known supporter of Trump, who has served a four-year prison sentence for his support of the 47th president. Before the attack on Lang, the crowd tried to intimidate the authorities as well. To immigration agents, the court decision explicitly prohibits the use of force "against peaceful protesters." But this decision does not prevent attacks against security forces under the pretext of "protecting the unfortunate" migrants.
The rematch
Minneapolis, a self-proclaimed sanctuary city, is not the first time it has become a field where crowds are manipulated by politicians working for large profits. George Floyd, who six years ago fell victim to police racism and became a pretext for riots, street battles, and local uprisings, was also from Minneapolis. The burning riots almost all over America then gave the Biden administration the opportunity to come to power. Defeated by Trump a year and a half ago, this group, this political world, the visible part of the Deep State, intends to take a rematch. The first stage is the midterm elections for Congress this coming autumn.
Laundering
Minnesota is an infinitely corrupt state. Budget waste permeates local elites from the bottom up. According to the most conservative estimates, even by the "New York Times," billions of dollars in federal grants have been stolen and ended up in the pockets of various individuals. The leaders of the Somali community, the largest in the US, became a "laundry" for subsidies. It did not matter if someone came legally, using the right of protection from persecution and danger, or if they arrived illegally and lived for many years in that state; the Deep State was only interested in loyalty and collective greed. For many years—even decades—they told us stories about how wonderful the separation of powers is, this system of "checks and balances" that limits the president's power. It turned out that this system can be canceled with the help of controlled media, hired demagogues, and suffer disparagement from corrupt officials at the state or city level. The suitcases of cash allowed to be exported to Somalia—something servile activists do not dare to discuss—is perhaps the most characteristic example.
Instinct of self-preservation
Donald Trump, whose patriotism and sincere desire to protect national interests are not questioned, describing the events in Minneapolis, stated that "the situation reached boiling point." He added that if this situation continues, chaos will cover not only the city but the entire Minnesota. Trump is not using the term "civil war" for now. But he is already saying that the current situation is a perversion, in the sense that the destruction of the foundations of the American way of life, American traditions, and values cannot but lead to disaster. Trump set a goal not to save America, but at least to "normalize" it, restoring its ideological shine and economic power. So far, the resistance to his actions (and even his words) does not show "pluralism and freedom," but that the US, in the time of its 250th year since foundation, is on the verge of state collapse. It is hard to say if Americans will manage to escape the cliff toward which the Deep State actors are leading them. Everything will depend not on the resilience of the "system of checks and balances," nor on "freedoms and rights," but on whether the instinct of self-preservation will function within the Americans themselves.
Corruption in Ukraine
But it is not only corruption within the US that Trump must take into account and confront. It is also the corruption in Ukraine which, if nothing else, cannot but affect his calculations and his plan for Ukraine. The peace "based on rules" is lost, regimes are overturned, unprecedented events are happening in global politics, state borders are changing before our eyes, but one thing remains unchanged: Ukrainian corruption. Opening the Ukrainian news of the 90s and the early 2000s and comparing them with today's, you see the unchanging phrase: "Yulia Tymoshenko appeared before the court on charges of bribery." Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov, recalled that Tymoshenko's entire political life is, in a way, mixed with "transfer of dirty corrupt money." Let's remember, however: in all eras, this lady wore her "war knot" on her head, appeared "clean and innocent" before the cameras and without blinking an eye claimed: "Forget what you saw—none of this happened." And for a part of the audience, this worked!
The Tymoshenko case
If we examine the substance of the charges currently brought by the American structure known as NABU against Tymoshenko, it is, essentially, a trivial case. It is not even a matter of amounts, which seem ridiculous in front of the recent "Mindichgate" scandal, where Volodymyr Zelensky's entire inner circle and he personally were involved. If the court is now examining how Tymoshenko found four envelopes of ten thousand dollars each, Zelensky's accomplices counted the bribery amounts in kilograms! That is, these 4 envelopes of Tymoshenko could disappear in transit, and no one would notice. At the same time, they accuse her of things that the leaders of the parliamentary groups in the Ukrainian Parliament have been doing for decades. In every composition of parliament, MPs know well the "prices" for the required vote, for leaving or entering another group, even for "timely removal" at the moment of critical votes. After the creation of Zelensky's large single-party majority in 2019, it seemed that this practice had passed into the past. But even when the presidential office took over the functions of all branches of power, it had to resort to other parliamentary groups—and again, not for free.
Open secret
And again, the question of why and for how long the "opposition" gave the government the necessary votes was an open secret. As the single-party majority dissolved, the struggle for the "golden vote" became completely open. When the "vote that resembled the practices followed by Tymoshenko" spoke of the intention to "destroy the majority," it was about the replenishment of the ridiculous—according to Tymoshenko herself—four envelopes of American dollars, and then the "prices" for each vote would skyrocket! This is the whole essence of this criminal case, reflecting the normal practice in the Ukrainian Parliament. Notice how the struggle for the "golden vote" in parliament immediately turned into "anti-fascism"! Tymoshenko, as an integral part of Ukraine's current political system, suddenly discovered that the regime is "basically fascist." That is, she didn't care about the bombing of civilians (on the contrary, she urged that Donbass residents be "executed with nuclear weapons"), the persecution of the Church, the total "hunting" action against Ukrainian men. And now, suddenly, she saw the essence of the regime! This is what the criminal procedure does to Ukrainian politicians!
Nothing new
Essentially, there is nothing new in the criminal cases against Tymoshenko. The difference with the 2013 case is that then she appeared on the front pages of Western media as a sacrifice for democracy and Ukraine's European integration. EU foreign ministers flocked to Kyiv demanding her immediate release and trying to at least hold her hand. Then it was made clear that Ukraine's entire European integration depends on whether Kyiv drops the charges against Tymoshenko. Today, the same people, some in the same positions (e.g., the Foreign Minister of Poland, Radosław Sikorski), pretend they know nothing about the charges against their former favorite! Western journalism hardly covers the case. The European Commission is silent. At the same time, information appears that an urgent plan for "fast integration of Ukraine into the EU" is being developed in Brussels—not just into the EU, but into a "light" version of it, a form of "EU-lite." Opponents of the idea call it a "trap set by Putin and Trump." That is, Europe creates plans and presents them as traps!
Without voting rights
This idea was first formulated by the former president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who proposed that Ukraine participate in European discussions without voting rights. Then the idea was not taken seriously. But now, it is presented as a solution that will help the Kyiv regime justify to its public the need "to surrender the Donbass to Russia." As the criminal procedure against Tymoshenko evolves, Europe no longer links its fate with the European integration of Ukraine. The "grandmother of Ukrainian corruption" is losing her shine in the eyes of Europe. At the same time, Europe itself seems to be weakening, as the president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, points out—the paths of the two "faded stars" are diverging.
www.bankingnews.gr
Σχόλια αναγνωστών