Client state reinforces allied ties

The USA is having talks with Denmark on the establishment of a nuclear missile defence, American secretary of Defence, Robert Gates, revealed yesterday in the security conference in Munich. Gates praised Denmark for being a faithful ally, on the same standing as Britain, Poland and the Czech Republic.

What a great honour! Gates discarded all talk of "Old and new Europe" and instead talked "allies that could contribute more".

Gates has good reasons to be satisfied with his client state. The Americans need the Thule Base in Northern Greenland as a pillar for the missile defence. On August 7th 2004 The US and Denmark signed an agreement on "continued cooperation" in the running of the Thule base. After incidents in which the US accidentally dropped nuclear waste in the waters around the base, putting a big number of Danish Thule air base workers at a grave cancer risk, Denmark is giving away national and in grand postcolonial style Greenlandish sovereignty over this strategically situated area. One can understand the smug satisfaction of the Americans.

And in the process Denmark is contributing to the stepping up of the nuclear and space based arms race all over the world. Both the Russians and the Chinese have warned against the American escalation of space based defence. There's probably a generous pay-off for the Danes in this. Denmark has been promised lucrative defence contracts in the building of the new monster fighter joint strike fighter.

Alas! Where exactly are you heading, little client state in the high north, once an example of a policy of solidarity in the United Nations!!