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France is working with partners on a plan over how to respond should the United States act on its threat to take over Greenland, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday.

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[–] Josey_Wales@lemmy.world -2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

What are we talking about about:

(Comment I responded to)

Uhm, no. Those bases and equipment would be taken over by the local militaries.

I was genuinely curious what this point was based on, as in my first hand experience being stationed at US Navy bases in Europe did not support that conclusion.

First hand experience is a source. For example, someone says “the sky is purple.” You are skeptical based on your personal experience. You ask for a source supporting that claim. You even go as far as to say, I have seen the sky before and it is not purple. In a normal rational dialogue the other party might respond, here is why I think the sky is purple

I am not promoting American exceptionalism. I observed the level of tech and financial investment the US Navy has in its European bases. I also observed those levels compared to local forces. I do not believe that local forces would take over bases and equipment. Destroy them, yes very possible. This is actually part of a strategy called tripwire troops. In the event of a conflict, US bases would be prepared to hold out until larger assets arrived to support them. Attacking these bases gives the US a reason escalate the level of engagement.

That’s all I was asking about. You can search for basic information about US defense expenditure related to European defense expenditure to find support for my observations. I searched for anything supporting the conclusion that if the US invaded Greenland local European military forces would seize local bases and equipment and found nothing.