Greenland

Greenland Ratifies Deal Expanding US Military Presence

Is the Greenland deal a masterstroke or U.S. control by another name?

4 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Greenland Ratifies Deal Expanding US Military Presence

Story

Above: A Greenland flag in Nuuk, western Greenland, on Jan. 28. Image credit: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Greenland's parliament, the Inatsisartut, voted 16-0 with seven abstentions on Tuesday at the second reading to ratify a security agreement with the U.S. and Denmark that expands the U.S. military presence while keeping the island under Danish control.
Inatsisartut
The Epoch Times
ABC News
Members of the governing coalition, the Democrats, Inuit Ataqatigiit and Atassut, supported the agreement. Meanwhile, the opposition party Naleraq abstained from voting, having previously criticized the deal and called for a referendum.
Inatsisartut
Rigsombudsmanden i Grønland
Daily Caller
The Copenhagen Post
U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen signed the security deal in September at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, after Trump threatened to annex the territory earlier in the year.
The White House
the Statsministeriet
BBC News
The accord allows the U.S. to establish defense areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig on the island's east coast, modernize and expand activities at Pituffik Space Base and work toward a Golden Dome missile defense system.
The White House
Despite reaffirming Denmark's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination, the deal also gives the U.S. a role in determining which economic partners can operate in certain "sensitive" sectors of Greenland's economy.
The White House
Denmark's parliament is scheduled to hold a first reading of the bill on Nov. 11 and vote on Nov. 19, with the deal entering into force once the U.S. receives diplomatic notification. U.S. congressional approval, however, is not required.
Reuters
The White House
House of Commons Library

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

This deal is a sublime piece of foreign policy. The permanent basing rights it establishes, and the hard bar on hostile powers, mean adversaries like Russia and China never get a foothold on North America's northern flank. As a result, the agreement strengthens the NATO alliance while respecting Danish sovereignty and Greenland's right to self-determination.

The White House

the Statsministeriet

Establishment-critical narrative

Through this Faustian bargain, the U.S. has swapped its annexation threat for a subtler form of control: veto power over which countries can invest in Greenland's mines and ports. Self-determination means little if Washington can freely pick and choose Greenland's economic partners. Ultimately, Greenlanders should decide Greenland's future, not a foreign power.