Trump declares victory on Greenland, but what did he actually secure?
Trump says he’s won on Greenland — even as major questions about the deal remain.
- Look beyond Greenland and at our commitment to NATO
- Consume media with skepticism, now more than ever
- Grassley, Ernst take a meaningful step to stop discrimination
- Service workers get an extra salute during bitter cold
Look beyond Greenland and at our commitment to NATO
A Jan. 26 letter suggested that the geography of Greenland is the sole reason that the United States has an interest in the defense of Greenland against Russian aggression. It goes further to state that no matter what our president’s motivations may be, the United States needs to be the principal defender. One has only to look at the map to know this, apparently.
This analysis is simplistic. The United States is already involved in the defense of Greenland. We already have troops stationed there, and our naval and air forces will be very involved with any incursion there. Historically, we have used bases in Greenland to help in winning the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. We are currently involved in Greenland’s defense through joint defense arrangements with NATO, to which we still belong and have binding treaty obligations. An example of how those arrangements can work can be seen by reading a Tom Clancy novel.
The motivations of our president become important in whether or not we will meet our treaty obligations with NATO, which the current administration has repeatedly tried to undermine, or whether we will attack a NATO ally for the sake of trying to exploit the substantial untapped mineral and natural resources of Greenland. While Russia’s Vladimir Putin would definitely love to control Greenland, he is undoubtably very happy about the possible destruction of NATO by a land grab and likely would do little to discourage it. If the administration is serious about the security of the Greenland choke point, they will meet our treaty obligations for a strong collective defense. Whether the administration chooses to meet those obligations remains to be seen.
Steven Mather, Urbandale
Consume media with skepticism, now more than ever
The time has come to “be curious.” For years, we have been warned to not believe everything we see on Facebook. Now we live with the added challenge of having to decide if an image is produced by AI. We must enter this current political environment with eyes wide open. That means reading a wide variety of news sources. Now is not the time to be indifferent. The Trump administration lies every day, and our democracy is being shredded. We must fact-check all the news we consume. This is crucial to combat misinformation and disinformation. President Donald Trump and his enablers are counting on us to remain uninformed and complacent.
Margaret Havens, Storm Lake
Grassley, Ernst take a meaningful step to stop discrimination
Thank you to Sen. Chuck Grassley for his ongoing work to protect independent businesses, especially those in agriculture, from economic discrimination.
Recently, he led a Senate letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission pushing for renewed Robinson-Patman Act enforcement. Sen. Joni Ernst also signed on to the letter.
I’ll be the first to admit it all sounds pretty boring, but simply heeding the recommendations in the letter, like following the law and enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act again, would be a massive shift from decades of government officials of both parties abdicating their responsibility and not doing so.
Grassley’s letter itself says it best: “The [Robinson-Patman Act] remains a powerful antitrust tool that the Commission and the DOJ can utilize to combat economic discrimination and maintain a level playing field where the smallest of entrepreneurs can compete with the largest of companies in a fair, open and honest marketplace.” That sounds pretty good to me.
The Robinson-Patman Act, first signed into law in 1936, is a readily available tool to help bring down costs, protect Main Street businesses from economic discrimination, and prevent the further hollowing out of Iowa. Kudos to Senators Grassley and Ernst for pushing our government officials to actually use it again.
Scott Syroka, Urbandale
Service workers get an extra salute during bitter cold
Special thank you to my middle-of-the-night Des Moines Register carrier, my U.S. Postal Service mail person deliverer, and the Des Moines trash collectors who all worked on that very cold Friday, Jan. 23. I appreciate all your efforts for me.
Jan Wise, Des Moines