Tag: NATO

No US Expansion!

Vote for Democracy #25

One of the outrageous lines of comment that Donald Trump has hammered recently is that the United States should take over various places, including Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. He seems to think he can do this by buying them or attacking them economically, diplomatically, or militarily.

This is totally unacceptable and violates both national and international law and treaties.

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, one of our NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies. Both the leadership of Denmark and the mostly indigenous government and population of Greenland have made it clear that Greenland is not for sale.

Like Denmark, Canada is an original 1949 member of NATO. They are consistently one of our top five trading partners. They are a nation with a long, storied history and diverse cultural influences and heritage. Canadians do not want to be part of the United States. They value their own democracy with its own laws, freedoms, and ways of doing things.

While the Panama Canal Zone was a US territory under a 99-year lease, it was returned to Panamanian sovereignty in 1999, in accord with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, negotiated by the administration of President Carter, whose state funeral was on Thursday, which was ratified by the Senate in 1978. Panama has made it clear that they will remain in control of their sovereign territory.

So, no, Trump cannot add to the United States in violation of law and treaty. Any members of the military, Congress, or executive branch who are asked to assist in these efforts must reject those requests or orders because they violate their oaths.

If Donald Trump wants to expand the number of states, he should concentrate on granting statehood to the District of Columbia and to Puerto Rico, if their citizenry votes to change their status. He should also work toward granting House voting status for the remaining US territories and our indigenous nations. As Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands pointed out during the selection of the Speaker of the House earlier this month, 4 million Americans had no vote for Speaker because they have no votes in Congress.

I call on Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress to prioritize full recognition of those living in current territories and our nation’s capital, not trying to take away the sovereignty of citizens of other nations.
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Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/12/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-12th-2025/

D-Day Anniversary

(Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash)

On June 6th, we observed the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the D-Day invasion, in which Allied Forces landed in France, beginning the campaign that ended World War II in Europe.

President Biden spoke at a ceremony honoring the anniversary and the United States veterans of D-Day, now all in their upper 90s or centenarians, held at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Earlier in the ceremony, after his address, French president Emmanuel Macron, had presented each veteran with a commendation with President Biden by his side.

I appreciated President Biden’s address, which recalled individual stories of that day while lifting up the democratic principles for which the war was fought. Biden spoke about NATO and the commitment to international alliances to protect and defend freedom and democracy. He also spoke about the bravery of Ukraine in defending their democracy against the invasion by Russia. He called on the current people of the United States to defend our democracy today.

After Biden spoke, a service member read “The Watch” symbolically relieving the honored veterans and all World War II veterans of duty.

And I started crying.

I was thinking of my father, known here as Paco, who was a World War II veteran who passed away two years ago at the age of 96. Paco served as a Navy SeaBee in the Pacific. Seeing the veterans in attendance and hearing these tributes to them made me miss him so much more.

He didn’t speak very often of his service in his younger years and, with so many veterans of his age, it wasn’t much noted as the majority had been in the service. In his retirement years, though, he often wore a SeaBees or Navy veteran cap and it was sweet to see store clerks or random passersby thank him for his service.

He would have loved today’s ceremony.

He might have cried, too.

SoCS: Ukraine and the rest of the world

Like much of the rest of the world, I’ve been watching coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I’m horrified at the destruction and loss of life and at the brazenness of the attack against a neighboring sovereign democracy.

I’m in awe of the courage and resolve of the Ukrainian people to defend their homeland. There are many ordinary citizens who have been given guns to defend their cities and villages. Apparently, some are making homemade bombs from instructions given on television. I don’t know that I would be able to do that myself and pray that I am never in such a terrible position that I would have to find out.

I’m also amazed at the courage of some Russian citizens who are protesting Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. There have been protests in 54 cities and many arrests. Some prominent people have spoken out publicly, including sports heroes. They are risking their careers and their freedom to speak out against the war.

I wish there was more that I could do to help the Ukrainians but I know I have no power to do so. I understand that the US as part of NATO has taken many actions to try to punish Putin and his oligarchy for this attack but they won’t directly intervene to protect the Ukrainian population. I’m worried that Russia will assassinate Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with the rest of the world looking on and unable to stop it. That they will put in place a Kremlin-backed dictator. That millions of Ukrainians will suffer from violence and deprivation for years as they try to reestablish themselves as an independent democracy.

And the rest of the world will be powerless to stop it.
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “rest.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2022/02/25/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-26-2022/

the war in Ukraine

I noted in this post that I joined in fears that Russia was about to escalate its hostilities toward Ukraine around the time of the Olympics and now it is happening.

The war there has been going on since 2014 when Russia took over the Crimean peninsula. At that time, separatists in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, with the backing of Russian troops, took control of the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk and some territory around them. Earlier this week, Russia recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as separate republics, including not only rebel-held territory but also land under the control of Ukraine. Putin also sent more troops into the area, calling them “peacekeepers” when they are actually invaders into Ukraine. Russia also has at least 150,000 troops with heavy weaponry just over the border on three sides of Ukraine.

I’m very afraid for the people of Ukraine. They have already lost about 14,000 people to this war but would lose many, many more if Russia launches a major offensive against them. The thirty countries of NATO are instituting economic sanctions against Russia and have increased military support to Ukraine, although they will not take part in the fighting directly. They are also preparing for possible refugees if Russia does undertake an invasion of the whole country.

It’s likely that people in Europe, and to a lesser extent in North America, will be impacted in terms of oil and gas supplies because Russia is a major producer and exporter and has used fossil fuels as a weapon before. It’s also likely that the Russian attack will include cyber warfare against Ukraine and possibly NATO countries.

President Biden has made clear that the US will keep its NATO commitments to defend member nations against attack and has moved additional troops into Europe. Because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, they only have their own armed forces to actively fight against Russia.

I hope it will be enough.

Putin has tried to claim that Ukraine was never really an independent entity, but he is mistaken. Even during the Soviet era, there were many people who proudly identified as Ukrainians, even when they were forced to flee to other countries, such as the US. Currently in Ukraine, there are even citizens who are Russian speakers who are ready to take up arms to defend Ukraine and its democracy.

Perhaps, Putin will realize that and back down before more blood is shed. I know there are diplomats still trying to avert a large-scale war but things look very grim now.

Putin does not inspire hope for peace.