"Justifying his decision to lend Great Britain warships and other military supplies in the early days of World War II, Roosevelt likened it to loaning a neighbor a garden hose to put out the fire consuming his house. Sure, Roosevelt charitably wanted to help a neighbor in need. But it was self-interested too; if the neighbor could extinguish the blaze, it wouldn't spread to FDR's home. The United States benefited from the friendship-and the buffer-that allies could provide."
"The president will speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, tomorrow, and he appears prepared to shatter the nearly 80-year-old NATO alliance in order to seize Greenland. In his quest to claim a strategically located island of ice and rock, Trump has turned against his nation's most stalwart friends. He has antagonized and mocked panicked European leaders, threatened punishing tariffs on countries that object to his plans, and pointedly not ruled out using military force."
A historical metaphor framed the strategic value of allies as buffers preventing distant fires from spreading home. Current U.S. actions toward Europe have shifted from partnership to confrontation, with leadership preparing to visit Davos while pursuing Greenland. The Greenland initiative involves antagonizing European allies, threatening tariffs, and not ruling out military options. That posture risks damaging or shattering the nearly 80-year-old NATO alliance and the transatlantic partnership that supported peace, prosperity, and democracy. Denmark rejects handing over Greenland, European forces have been moved to the territory, and Greenlandic authorities warned citizens to prepare for possible escalation.
Read at The Atlantic
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