European troops arrive in Greenland to boost the Arctic island's security

[gfarber]

12. 25th

Our NATO allies looked on in dismay,
As a partner went strangely astray;
Once steady and true,
Now erratic in view,
Led by bluster that rattled their way.

From Denmark to Greenland they sent,
A few soldiers with drills well-meant;
To reassure, it seemed,
A president’s dream,
That an island might soon be “acquired” by intent.

At a meeting kept civil and bland,
No tables were flipped, no demand;
Yet beneath polite talk,
Ran a dangerous walk,
For the fix was not close at hand.

Said Frederiksen, firm but polite,
“This dispute isn’t fading from sight;
The ambition stands fast,
And it’s deadly serious,” past
All illusions of diplomatic light.

So Germany, France, and the rest,
With Sweden and Norway abreast,
Sent planners to play,
For much larger displays,
Hoping drills might calm nerves at best.

All this for a tantrum-prone king,
With vast arms but not vast reasoning;
He’d flatten the field,
If the world would not yield,
To each petulant, bullying thing.

If Russia seeks NATO undone,
Not by tanks but by trust overrun,
One wonders aloud,
With the damage endowed:
Would an “asset” do more—or just one?

Trump bullies a friend, so goes French,
Like stealing the car you just lent;
Why borrow with grace,
When you can own the place,
And call greed “strategic intent”?

For morality, there’s no constraint,
Save whatever advances his want;
Power and gain,
Are the ends of the chain,
And the means barely register—can’t.

This is why the 25th amendment exists,
When a leader’s unmoored from the gist;
If courage remains,
Let it break through the chains,
Before alliance and order are missed.