Letter: Gobbling Greenland

A recent LTE asserted that acquiring Greenland was no different than the Louisiana Purchase or the purchase of Alaska. Wrong. The US did not already have a major voluntary military presence in either territory when France (1803) and Russia (1867) voluntarily chose to sell those territories; in neither case was the US breaking an international pact [the UN] of which we are a member; nor were the purchases done in the face of vehement opposition by the populace. Most importantly, in both cases the purchases were effectuated by treaties passed by the Senate. No: to compare Trump's grandiose, bombastic, imperialistic threats to voluntary and willing sales shows a lack of historical knowledge. Of course Trump is hellbent to rewrite American history to glorify himself and erase the past, so it's not surprising his worshippers have swallowed the Kool-Aid, history be damned.