Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

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>>The US needs control of arctic sea lanes

I literally couldn't care less about what US "needs". Russia "needs" Ukraine and similarly no one should be respecting them for it. You Americans think you own the world - you don't.

>>This is pure national security and economic security pragmatism.

Yes and I'm sure Putin sells his war in the same way to his citizens.

>>and I don’t want my country to collapse economically or militarily so taking Greenland is easy to reconcile.

If you think taking Greenland will do anything of that sort then you are deeply delusional. Trump and the other fascists will stuff their pockets and the inevitable conflict that follows will make your defence companies rich.

>>We kept the Soviets at bay

I'm sorry, what are you talking about exactly? The Soviets that fought with you to defeat the Nazis? The Soviets you have subsidized with billions of dollars during WW2 with weapons and supplies to defeat Hitler? Those Soviets?

>>The US propped up Europe for 70 years after WW2 and paid for its defense

I assume you never actually sat down to think why that is, and if it might have something to do with the fact that US both wanted to do this and it was in their interest to continue doing so. To now say something as stupid as "the bill is due" is uneducated at best, malicious at worst.

Of course it was in our interests to do so. No empire acts otherwise.

We do not own the world, but we do own the worlds reserve currency, largest economy, are the guarantors of safe naval passage for most of the world, are the defenders of North America, Europe, and to a lesser extent Japan and South Korea. We send re-usable rockets to space. We are amazing.

Does any of this give us a direct claim to Greenland? No, but what claim did Denmark have over the native people when they invaded?

Roosevelt honestly thought the Soviets would be good partners post-war. He was wrong. Very wrong.

>>No, but what claim did Denmark have over the native people when they invaded?

If you really are American then I hope the irony of this question is not lost on you.

I guess talking to you is kinda like talking to a citizen of Germany circa 1939 who is saying that of course Poland should be taken, they have the best location in Europe with all trade between east and west going throught it, lots of natural resources, and after all why do the Slavs have claims to it, Prussians lived there too. I don't want to see my country collapse militarily and economically - and we are amazing too. Not the mention large portion of Poland was under German control during the 100 year long partition of Poland, surely they need to pay back for all the great stuff that we built there for them.

It just makes sense, doesn't it. America is powerful, of course it should take Greenland if it wants to - why shouldn't Denmark give it away, they owe you, right?

I suppose the only question is - are you ready to pick up a rifle and come and take it? Or just to send other young men do to it for you? Or is your plan just to destroy your alleged allies economically until they do what you want them to do?

I think my main regret at the moment is looking up to America as an adolescent, your cultural exports have really worked in that sense. You might have the best rockets around, but at the end of the day you're just a country of bullies.

The earths’ resources are finite and we are in a competition for them. Technology and AI make the race for energy even more intense.

If your country was as large as the US or China it too would likely be a “bully.”

France is still a bully in Africa when it wants to be.

I also bought into all our cultural exports as a child and believed we were going to war for freedom and Democracy. As I get older I see the truth. It was all geopolitics.

Freedom and Democracy were just icing on the cake if we managed to preserve it wherever we were sending our kids to die.

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