CNN commentator Maggie Haberman he said that the Greenland arrangement is being discussed by the President Donald Trump and the European leaders seems to be one that already exists.
Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday after spending weeks demanding that Denmark hand over Greenland. The president cited reasons of “national security” even though a 1951 treaty allows the United States to expand its military presence on the island, where it already maintains a base.
In his address, Trump said he wants “right, title, and ownership” of the territory. Afterwards, the president announced that he and the European leaders had reached a “framework” and a “concept of agreement” on Greenland. He gave no specific details, but conservative commentators hailed the mysterious deal as the stuff of modern-day Metternich.
On Wednesday AC360Haberman said the signs indicate that the deal in question is “something that already exists.”
“So, Maggie, is it clear to you what, if anything, President Trump is getting from Denmark in Greenland that the United States doesn’t already have? in fact check on?” Anderson Cooper he asked.
“No. And look, Anderson, we don’t know the answers to these questions,” Haberman replied. “There is much left unsaid. The president did not answer this.”
Haberman went on to say that based on the little information that has been given about the “framework,” it appears to be a reflection of the pre-existing arrangement between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland.
“As of now, based on what they are talking about, it seems they are talking about something that already exists,” she continued. “And in fact, the United States used to have a larger military presence in Greenland. It was scaled back after the Cold War.”
She noted that in his Davos speech, Trump berated NATO and asked if it would ever come to the defense of the United States. In fact, the only time NATO’s collective defense provision was invoked was on behalf of the United States after the September 11 attacks.
“Article 5 [of the NATO treaty] was invoked once, and it was after 9/11, “said Haberman. “And someone who is from New York, it is surprising that they do not remember this. And so, he’s talking about this entirely in transactional terms. And you can see that this is not over. I understand that [NATO Secretary-General] Mark Rutte is trying to calm things down, but European leaders are still very alarmed. And the leaders in Denmark have been very alarmed for weeks and weeks before this really became much more public.”
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