丹麦前领导人抨击特朗普就国防开支发表的评论

Former Danish Leader Attacks Trump¹ for Comments on Defense² Spending

A former Danish prime minister has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump over a recent Twitter message about military spending. Lars Loekke Rasmussen said that defense willingness is not just about the amount of money spent.

His comments are the latest in a growing argument between American and Danish politicians.

Trump announced on Tuesday he was canceling his planned visit to Denmark because current Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was “nasty” when she wholly rejected his idea of buying Greenland.

Loekke Rasmussen led the country until June, when Frederiksen took office. The former leader tweeted to Trump on Thursday: “We have had (proportionally) exactly the same numbers of casualties in Afghanistan as US. We always stands firm and ready.”

Trump had earlier written on Twitter that Denmark only commits 1.35 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense. He wants all NATO members to give at least 2 percent.

“We will not accept that our defense willingness is only about percentages,” Loekke Rasmussen tweeted. “I told you at the NATO Summit in Brussels last year.”

Trump was expected to visit Denmark early next month. The cancellation³ of his trip came after Frederiksen called the American president’s wish to buy Greenland from her country “an absurd discussion.”

Trump said the prime minister’s comment “was nasty…all she had to say was ‘No, we wouldn’t be interested.’”

Greenland Premier⁴ Kim Kielsen also has rejected the idea of the United States buying the territory. He told the Associated Press this week the idea is “not something to joke about.”

Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory, is the world’s largest island. It sits in the Arctic. As the Earth warms, Greenland’s oil and other natural resources are becoming increasingly easier to find and remove. Russia, China, the United States, Canada and other countries are trying to claim Arctic lands.

The United States has a military presence in Greenland. Under a 1951 defense treaty with the United States and Denmark, it operates the Thule Air Base. The base houses a radar⁵ station that is part of a missile defense system.

Frederiksen said this week that Denmark does not own Greenland. It belongs to its people, she said. Although it is a part of the Danish kingdom, it has its own government and parliament. Greenland has a population of 56,000 people. Most of them are indigenous⁶ Inuits.

The island was a Danish colony from 1775 until 1953, when Denmark changed its constitution and made the island a province. Denmark continues to decide its foreign and defense policies.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke⁷ with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. The U.S. State Department said Pompeo “expressed appreciation⁸ for Denmark’s cooperation as one of the United States’ allies.”

Kofod later wrote on Twitter, “U.S. and Denmark are close friends and allies with [a] long history of active engagement across [the] globe.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in this Story

nasty – adj. unpleasant

absurd – adj. extremely silly, foolish, or unreasonable⁹

proportionally – adj. having parts that are the correct or appropriate size in relation to each other

casualty – n. a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war,

kingdom – n. a country whose ruler is a king or queen

indigenous – adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

9 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。