Kuala Lampur, Jan. 11 -- There is nothing perverse in the internal logic of Donald Trump when he speaks openly about acquiring Greenland. To Trump, Greenland is not first and foremost a society, a culture, or a people with historical rights.

It is a strategic object - a massive piece of geography whose value is rising rapidly in an era of climate change, military competition, and technological rivalry.

When Trump remarked that he "likes maps," he was not expressing a hobbyist's fascination with geography.

He was articulating a worldview in which territory is power, and power must be owned, controlled, or denied to rivals.

In such a mindset, moral discomfort, alliance sensitivities, and post-war diplomatic norms are secondary considera...