'Not done a good job': J.D. Vance unloads on ally in effort to justify Greenland takeover
Vice President J.D. Vance attacked Denmark Friday while speaking from the Greenland.
Vance told U.S. military members that shoring up Greenland — an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark — was now considered essential to the U.S.
And he blasted Denmark for making that the case.
"What Denmark has done, and sometimes in partnership with us, but let's just be honest, what Denmark has done over the last 20 years, has failed to do in some cases, we know, unfortunately, this place, this base, the surrounding area, is less secure than it was 30, 40 years ago because some of our allies have not kept up," he said.
He repeated earlier comments he made that China and Russia "have taken greater interest in Greenland and this base and the activities of the brave Americans right here."
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He complained, "We know too often our allies in Europe have not kept pace with military spending, and Denmark has not kept pace with the resources necessary to keep this base, our troops, and people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, China, and other nations."
"We have underinvested in the infrastructure," Vance said. "We have underinvested in the security architecture and we have underinvested in the brave men and women doing a very hard job to keep all of us safe. That has to change.
"Denmark has not done a good job keeping Greenland safe," he said.
Vance did acknowledge that the Danes sent soldiers to help Americans fight in the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which began over 20 years ago and continued for over eight years. That wasn't enough, however, he said.
"Recognizing there are important security partnerships in the past does not mean we cannot have disagreements with allies in the present about how to preserve our shared security for the future," he added.
"There is no amount of bullying, no amount of obfuscating, no amount of confusing the issue," he continued. "Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and the securing of the architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people."
See the clip below or at the link here.
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