In my opinion, this is entirely unacceptable, and not just because it will have been agreed under coercion. I have always found it repugnant that US bases in the UK are considered, for all practical purposes, to be US sovereign territory.
In this context, I entirely agree with Zach Polanski that the time has arrived for us to reconsider the hosting of US bases in the UK, and, through base sharing, in places like Cyprus, from which support has been provided for the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
NATO should, at this moment, be reconsidering the whole reason why it permits forces from a hostile country like the USA to be located in its territory, with a necessary transition for their removal now being a requirement for peace in Europe.
He really does need to grasp that the Greens choose those who gain vermine by a vote of party members, not decisions of party leaders sucked up to.
I also very much love that reference to Cyprus. The US bases in the UK are not sovereign US territory in any manner. The UK bases in Cyprus are, in every manner, sovereign UK territory.
Apart from all of that 6th-form guff, the dope can’t even spell “Zack”. It shows you how much attention he pays. If he wants to be a Green Lord he’s going to have to do better than that. Narcissistic twat.
Why, in that circumstance, granting the US additional rights in Greenland makes any sense at all is completely baffling unless the likes of Mark Rutte are acting as agents for the US, and for its pro-Putin stance.
Now Mark Rutte is a KGB spy too.
He’s probably a fascist/neoliberal to boot I tell ya!
Everyone is apart from Spud. Even Steve Keen will be soon, mark my words.
Far worse…. he’s a *successful* fascist/neoliberal/whatever-Spuddian-expletive…
“In this context, I entirely agree with Zach Polanski …”
And almost certainly in many, many others, since both are as mad as a box of frogs.
.
Europe.Why, in that circumstance, granting the US additional rights in Greenland makes any sense at all is completely baffling unless the likes of Mark Rutte are acting as agents for the US, and for its pro-Putin stance.
Yes – because of course the fall of Maduro in Venezuela and potentially Iran really play into Putin’s hands?
As far as I am aware doesn’t the existing treaty give the US the right to establish based in Greenland anyway. Indeed aren’t there abandoned bases from the Cold War era under the Ice Sheet that presumably with the right ordnance could be revitalized?
He’s arguably even more naive (or deliberately disingenuous) in post 2 on ‘The European Federation’ Tim – a good one to expose his ignorance of the EU’s true nature!!
The US had loads of Greenland bases during the Cold War and thousands of troops there. Withdrawn because post-Soviet Russia was vastly weaker than the USSR, which of course it still is.
Careful with that – Putin is an existential threat, as so many CIA Assets on these pages remind us!!
So if we assume Trump is sane and rational, and ask how ownership of Greenland differs from the current situation, we get the answer that the current situation gives the USA almost all power (cf. Chagos islands where the USA is now blocking the deal), but one power is missing: the power to give away rights to others, so if the USA wanted to gift Greenland to Russia (or China, or anyone else) the current arrangement would not allow it as it is Danish territory (though, as with the Chagos islands, the USA might be able to block the Danes giving it away).
Back in the day when I lived near Ely, the US bases Mildenhall and Lakenheath were nearby. We would go to RAF Mildenhall for the annual air show. We’d ride our bikes right through the gate. There were close relations between the USAF anf local, encouraged by the US command.. That all ended after some terrorist atrocity (before 9/11 by years) in the name of security. No more air shows. US personell seem to leave the base far less often. Anyone who lived in Ely would know all that, and know about how many bases the US had in East Anglia in WW2. There is no problem. If we asked them to go, they would. They were pretty popular among the population as far as I could tell, not an occupying army but welcome guests.
I have great memories of Mildenhall air show, visiting as a child in the eighties. Not just the aeroplanes, the barbecues made from oil drums cut in half and the strange US coke cans with push-button openings rather than ring-pulls. I agree, I think these bases were a very welcome presence.
I second that. It’s a great shame the USAF pulled the plug. Seeing a SR71 doing a low pass on full reheat was probably a unique experience outside of the US. The only SR71 in a museum outside the US is at Duxford.
…and it still looks like it’s from the future.
Where we lived was where they turned onto final. approach. SR71s and U-2s sound very distinctive flying slow. The Duxford B-29 and B-52 staged throught Mildenhall on their way and we were treated to a low flypast as they left.
My wife still makes bbq sauce using the recipe she got from the food stands at the air show.
I still don’t get how we went from having cool stuff like Concorde and the Blackbird when I was a kid (40-50 years ago) to having stuff with an excitement level akin to a middle aged solicitor who collects stamps.
Echo the comments about Mildenhall (my son and I did Alconbury in 1988 too).
I really did shed a tear when the last Concorde was shown touching down on the telly – when I was a kid we were all promised our own flying car…..
Jim, I do like the Typhoon though.
Sae one at an airshow years ago – I think Alconbury – amazing and the B52 that followed it was even more of an awesome sight!
I remember going tenpin bowling at RAF Scampton against the local Scampton Flyers team.
Fabulous place. The moment you entered the gates you were treated to the sight of massive American cars which along with wandering round the commissary was like being on the set of American Graffiti (George Lucas’s greatest film).
Scampton has never been an American base. It was the home of 617 Squadron (and others) in its V bomber days and the site of Nigger’s grave.
One of my daughters’ boyfriends is in the USAF, and based at Lakenheath as part of the 48th Fighter Wing. They live off base but most don’t bother and show little inclination to mix with the locals. Mind you, have you met the locals?
Mind you, have you met the locals?
Yes, knuckle-draggers. Lakenheath – like Brandon, Thetford, Haverhill – was ruined by London Overspill. Breaking up traditional working class communities and moving the people en masse to new housing in rural Suffolk and south Norfolk often resulted in more crime, more family breakdown, more child abuse, vandalism, etc. Remarkably, the socialist planners never expected that…
Perhaps he should visit the US Cemetery at Cambridge and contemplate the memorial for all the bomber crews the Yanks lost over Germany.
A very sobering place. Murphy wouldn’t have had the balls to set foot in a bomber – he’d have been screaming about a reserved occupation, or polishing his Quakerism.
He really is profoundly ignorant, isn’t he? On so many levels.
But the US of A hostile to Europe? There hasn’t been the slightest sign of the US or Trump being hostile to Europe. All the hostility comes from Europe.
Indeed. All the while EU citizens and politicians were slagging of the USA they were building welfare states while the USA shouldered most of the defence burden.
And now they are throwing a paddy because they don’t like the Orange Man’s home truths.
Over the last few days he’s played ’em like a fiddle but they think they stood up to him. Presumably by giving him all he wanted.
I wonder if the Greenland thing is just to break NATO up. Free up the US from having to guarantee European security.
Nah… It’s to make Europe *commit* to their Promises, and not “forget” they made them two years from now.
( We’d Love To, but the EU Budget Diktat makes that….)
+ 100
I’d say it’s a unique combination of profound ignorance, dangerously misplaced self-confidence in his own ability, a thirst for power (or even relevance) as well as a love of evil. A very dangerous combination indeed
But enough about Two Tier. How about Donald the Great?
You’re talking about Spud, yes?
He must be furious at TTK giving away UK territory.
I have always found it repugnant that US bases in the UK are considered, for all practical purposes, to be US sovereign territory.
I find it repugnant that many English cities are policed, for all practical purposes, as if they already are ethnic minority sovereign territory. Isn’t that right (former) Chief Condtsbke Craig Guildford?
“Peace in our time”
Spud thinks EU is fully capable of self defense without the Yanks. Fine. I’m okay with that. Good luck!
It’s understandable he would hand responsibility for defense over to ISIS in fairness given his hatred of Jews.
He at least has some logic in his delusion, unlike those who know Europe is incapable without the Yanks but still want them gone. Barking.
How the fuck would you expect to lease an airfield and stick your aircraft on it and not have control of the land for the duration of the lease? He ought to read the Status of Forces Agreements and calm down.
They are still RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, just like Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Greenham Common, Alconbury etc were. I think they still have a RAF officer on site though I’m not sure what he/she does all day.
Be a figurehead. I had to do some enquiries about Mildenhall a couple of years back. A single RAF officer there, exactly like the Peter Sellers character in Dr. Strangelove.
“….The Israeli genocide in Gaza.”
the man is a moron. If Israel really is intent on genocide, they are going about it in the most inefficient way. Their aim is the destruction of a terrorist group intent on the genocide of Israelis. It is believed that there are 1.7 million arabs living and working in Israel.
I made this point often. If the goal is genocide you have civilians in a very restricted area against overwhelming force including surpassing airpower. If they wanted to kill all the Palestinians it would have taken two weeks at the outside.
Nevertheless the ‘South African government’ and the ‘international communit’ have the genocide in their heads..
a necessary transition for their removal now being a requirement for peace in Europe
I don’t understand this. Does he seriously believe that the US withdrawing from Europe would strengthen ‘peace’ and make us more secure? Insane.
Oh yes… He fully believes this…..
After all… If this were to happen, this would mean TrEx-Professore would be in his Sagacious Seat™ and people would listen in awe to his Revelations, and proceed to implement them forthwith.
The Glorious Union of Spudonia would soon be formed as the EU joins and bends the Knee in fealty, striking the Russians and the Chinese with such Awe, and the US with such terror that World Peace is imminent, and he will receive all the Nobels, now renamed Solanums in his honour.
Etc….
Well, there is an argument that it is because of US bases in UK and Europe that UK & European socialists had a freer hand to boost their welfare state.
IF ( If remember) we had been forced by an absence of Americana to spend 5% GDP on defense would that have
a) reduced state spending on the dependancy class
b)Given us more options in defence matters.
Precisely. The US needs to go tough love on the rest of NATO, and abandon them to their fate. There’s no way they will do whats necessary while the US defence umbrella exists. The only way they will change priorities and spend the money on defence (and do all the other things that are necessary, you know the ones our host tells us we don’t need to do, like ensuring we have a strong and capable industrial base etc) is if they are sh*t scared about what might happen without US protection. And to be frank maybe even not then, because the delusion is strong with Europe’s rulers and they may think that words are just as powerful as actions, who knows? But its the US’s only hope to get Europe to stand on its own two feet. Sink or swim time boys……
Winning a war brings peace. To the winners AND losers. When you lose to Ras Putin, you will have peace.
I think, as usual, he doesn’t understand what ‘sovereign’ means.