Tag: greenland

America’s Greenland deal has a radioactive backstory

The US, Denmark, and Greenland have signed a new agreement to expand American military activity on the island. Washington calls Greenland vital to its security, but an expanded military presence also raises an older question: What risks does the Arctic island take on in return?

The agreement builds on a defense partnership dating back to 1951. That history includes an episode that brought the risks of Washington’s Cold War strategy into sharp focus: An American mission over Greenland that ended in a nuclear disaster.

The nuclear patrols over Greenland

In the 1960s, in the middle of the Cold War, the US Air Force launched Operation Chrome Dome. This mission implied keeping bombers armed with nuclear weapons on continuous airborne alert, ready to strike the USSR if necessary. If you’ve seen the film ‘Dr. Strangelove’, you’ll remember that Major T.J. ‘King’ Kong’s crew was involved in such a patrol mission.

Theoretically, this strategy was feasible: It would have made it impossible for the USSR to disarm the US with a single blow. However, in practice, as the number of nuclear-armed aircraft patrols increased, so did the number of incidents involving nuclear weapons.

Then-US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara advocated for ending this program, arguing that Americans had already established an effective early warning system for ballistic missile launches, so the US could take fewer risks and cut costs. However, the Strategic Air Command resisted this idea, fearing it would decrease their importance and result in budget cuts. 

A horrific incident occurred in 1966 over Spain when a bomber collided with a refueling tanker aircraft, resulting in several fatalities and nuclear bombs landing on beaches and in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite this incident, the US considered the nuclear threat from the USSR a matter of primary importance, one which justified any security measures. 

Eventually, after intense debates, a compromise was reached: The number of patrolling bombers would be reduced, but the airborne patrols would continue.

Thule Air Base in northern Greenland was established in the 1950s. A Mercator projection map gives a distorted sense of distance; in reality, its location was very convenient for potentially launching missiles at the USSR and monitoring missile launches from there. It also provided a convenient vantage point for reconnaissance of the Novaya Zemlya Soviet nuclear test site. 

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U.S. To Establish Two New Military Bases In Greenland — Narsarsuaq And Mestersvig Sites Agreed At UNGA

The United States is set to establish two new military bases in Greenland under a trilateral agreement with Denmark and Greenland expected to be signed Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Washington intends to reopen Narsarsuaq, the site of the former Bluie West One installation that operated through the 1950s, as well as establish a new presence at Mestersvig on Greenland’s remote east coast. The Mestersvig site currently serves as a forward outpost for the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish special forces unit conducting Arctic reconnaissance.

The two new locations will supplement Pituffik Space Base — formerly Thule Air Base — which has served as the sole remaining American installation in Greenland since the Cold War drawdown. At its Cold War peak, the United States maintained 17 military installations across Greenland and stationed more than 10,000 personnel there. The planned expansion represents a measured but significant return to that posture.

Three sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed the agreement’s provisions, while noting that details remained subject to final adjustment until the document is formally signed. A White House spokesperson declined to discuss specifics, reiterating only that the deal would “secure and defend the security of Greenland and the United States.”

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Trump Announces Permanent U.S. Security Agreement Over Greenland — “Infinite Life” Deal With Denmark Gives America Full Control Forever

Donald Trump announced late on Wednesday a “game-changer” for the US in which it has secured “infinite life” control of Greenland’s security at no cost to taxpayers in what is a “generational achievement.”

Under the terms of the agreement dubbed by Trump as the “Infinite Life” Agreement, the United States has secured a 100 year plus lease of Greenland’s security under the control of the US in a deal brokered by Trump with the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland. The deal effectively bars adversaries including China and Russia from ever establishing a military base in Greenland or even maintaining a military presence in the island. Nor will any adversary be able to make sensitive investments in Greenland without the written approval of the US.

The island of Greenland is of strategic importance to the United States because it is located at the northernmost tip of North America and is situated astride the critical North Atlantic shipping lanes. Additionally, Greenland provides the United States with a radar horizon that extends deep into Russian and Chinese airspace and it is home to the U.S. Pituffik Space Base, (previously known as Thule Air Base) which serves as an early warning system for ballistic missile attacks. As Arctic experts and defense analysts have noted for years, whoever controls Greenland will control the High North.

Reuters previously reported that Denmark had told the United States it would not consider selling Greenland and was opposed to the country establishing a military base there. The agreement is a security compact and not a purchase of Greenland by the United States, thus sidestepping the previous rejection by the Danish government.

Trump confirmed that the U.S. will immediately start to develop a large military base in Greenland, in partnership with the people of Greenland. The agreement is designed to be permanent — an “Infinite Life” Agreement with no expiration.

This deal immediately caps Chinese and Russian aggression in the region, since they can never establish a military base, have a military presence, or make sensitive investments in Greenland without Washington’s written approval. This deal also finally puts an end to China’s aggressive attempts to expand Arctic shipping routes and to Russia’s attempts to reconstitute its Cold War Arctic military infrastructure.

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Greenland’s Icecap Grew This Year

Greenland’s icecap is melting away thanks to global warming, at least that is what we are told. According to the EU’s European State of the Climate 2025 Report, the ice sheet lost 139 Gt last year. They say that is equivalent to about 1.5 times the amount of ice stored in all the glaciers in the European Alps, and raised global mean sea level by 0.4 mm. (A gigatonne is one billion tonnes.) Since 1972, losses have amounted to 5,747 Gt. The rate of ice loss has increased by around five times since the 1980s and is expected to continue increasing beyond the end of the century.

These amounts sound terrifying, which is of course the object of the exercise – at least until you realise that at present rates it would take Greenland 27,000 years to melt away.

I am always suspicious when ‘scientists’ present trends since the 1970s, a time when the Earth had gone through three decades of cooling and there were genuine fears among both scientists and world leaders about the return of the Little Ice Age. I am even more suspicious when I discover that official data about the Greenland ice sheet is publicly available back to 1840.

In 2021, a peer-reviewed study calculated the annual changes in the ice sheet mass balance since 1840. (The heavy black line represents the net changes, which is of relevance to this discussion):

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Denmark Under Pressure Over Its Decades-Long Forced Contraception of Greenlandic Women – Now, Reports Investigate Whether this Constitutes Genocide

Around half of fertile women in the Arctic Island were fitted with IUDs or given hormone birth control shots.

From the 1960’s and into the early 1990’s, Denmark imposed an inhuman sterilization program on Greenlandic Inuit women, with the purpose of limiting population growth in the self-governing territory.

Now, against the background of Donald J. Trump’s decision to control the island, the Danish are under fire for their mistreatment of the indigenous populations.

Two separate reports investigating the forcible contraception of thousands of Indigenous women and girls are divided over a core question: does it constitute genocide?

Associated Press reported:

“The Greenlandic government, which commissioned the inquiry, released the reports Friday but, when pressed by journalists during a news conference, would not say whether its leaders concluded whether a genocide had occurred. The government told the authors to use the definition under the United Nations’ 1948 genocide convention, which includes ‘imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group’.

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GREENLAND TIES: US Opens New Consulate in Nuuk, Strengthening Its Presence in Arctic Island

The size of the new consulate spells the importance Greenland now has for the Trump administration.

The diplomatic dance continues between the United States, the presently leaderless kingdom of Denmark, and the autonomous territory of Greenland.

Three Days after special envoy Jeff Landry visited the island for a conference, the US inaugurated yesterday (21) a new consulate in Nuuk, while some Greenlanders turned up to protest.

The new US consulate in Nuuk shows the Donald J. Trump administration ‘sharpening its focus on the Arctic’.

Politico reported:

“The inauguration of the new, 3,000-square-meter complex in Nuuk’s city center has prompted protests from native Greenlanders, with the island’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, telling local outlet Sermitsiaq that he will not attend the event.”

“Trump reopened the American consulate in 2020 during his first term, but it initially had to be housed in a Danish Joint Arctic Command building.”

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Trump Wants Veto Power Over Chinese or Russian Investments in Greenland in Bold National Security Move

Trump is working to curtail outside influence in our hemisphere.

Back in November 2025, the Donald J. Trump administration released the new National Security Strategy, and we could understand a little better how the protection of the Western Hemisphere has become central to US efforts.

We read there: “The United States has achieved success in rolling back outside influence in the Western Hemisphere by demonstrating, with specificity, how many hidden costs—in espionage, cybersecurity, debt-traps, and other ways—are embedded in allegedly ‘low cost’ foreign assistance. We should accelerate these efforts, including by utilizing U.S. leverage in finance and technology to induce countries to reject such assistance.”

So, when it comes to the Arctic Island of Greenland, this whole security architecture applies there, too.

We have reported how Greenland Leader Admits US Military Presence on Island Is Part of Negotiations ‌With Washington.

But the security is not limited to establishing a number of air bases and other military assets there.

There’s also the question of curbing the outside influence from major powers.

So, it’s not at all surprising that reports arise today that Trump is demanding a ‘veto’ power over any future Chinese or Russian investments in Greenland.

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Greenland Leader Admits US Military Presence on Island Is Part of Negotiations ‌With Washington

PM Nielsen faces the US interest on his island head-on.                                                               

Danish caretaker Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has lost the chance of negotiating a new coalition, after she led her Social Democrat party to the worst election result in its history.

Her ally, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, is now left to negotiate with the United States on the thorny issue of the designs by President Donald J. Trump over the Arctic island that is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

Today (12), Nielsen said that increasing the US military presence in the Arctic territory is part of ongoing secret negotiations ‌with Washington.

Reuters reported:

“From the beginning, one of the issues has been that ​they don’t think we do enough in terms of national security and surveillance in our region, so security and more ​military presence in Greenland is part of the discussions,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters in Copenhagen.

Seeking to calm tensions, Greenland, Denmark and the US earlier this year agreed to hold high-level diplomatic negotiations to resolve the crisis, ​although the outcome of those ongoing talks has yet to be presented.”

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Greenland still an ‘urgent issue’ as more than 50 nations head off to Munich Security Conference

Greenland’s strategic significance remains a primary concern for U.S. security policy heading into the Munich Security Conference, according to an expert.

More than 50 heads of state are expected to attend the global security conference held in Germany. Last year’s event featured remarks from Vice President J.D. Vance, who urged Europe to curb migration and criticized some European allies.

Jacob Olidort, chief research officer and director of American Security at the America First Policy Institute, said Greenland remains both an urgent threat and a critical opportunity.

“It’s kind of interesting that Europe doesn’t see the urgency around something in their backyard,” Olidort said Wednesday.

He stressed that security planning for Greenland must focus on missile defense and Arctic territorial defense.

Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has pushed to annex Greenland for more than a year. In January 2026, Trump put the issue at the center of his address to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump previously said talks about including the 800,000-square-mile Arctic island under his planned “Golden Dome” missile defense system were ongoing.

After meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos, Trump called off threatened tariffs over the issue. Earlier in January, Trump had threatened eight European allies with higher tariffs until Denmark gave up Greenland. However, Trump backed off after reaching what he said was a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland and the rest of the Arctic region.

Trump wants to buy the sparsely populated island, but officials in Denmark and Greenland have said it’s not for sale. Public polling shows Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose joining America.

As ice melts in the Arctic, more shipping and military ship routes could open in the region, changing the global trade and the defensive relationship between the U.S. and Russia. More mining and drilling exploration could also open up.

Trump maintains that the U.S. acquisition of Greenland is crucial to national security, warning that inaction could allow Russian or Chinese influence. His stated preference remains purchasing Greenland.

Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, depends on Danish subsidies and fishing.

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Greenland Gambit: How Trump’s Arctic Ambition Shattered the Atlantic Alliance

A specter is haunting the transatlantic alliance – not from the East, but from within. What began as a seemingly quixotic real estate fantasy has evolved, through weeks of escalating pressure, into the most profound stress test of U.S.-European relations since the Cold War. President Donald Trump’s campaign to acquire Greenland has laid bare a stark reality: the alliance’s most powerful member is willing to wield coercion against its own partners, treating sovereignty as a transactional commodity. While an eleventh-hour tactical retreat has pulled the world back from the brink of immediate conflict, the crisis has illuminated a fatal flaw in the alliance’s foundation.

The Tactical Retreat: A “Framework” That Exposes More Than It Resolves

The immediate crisis abated not with a grand diplomatic triumph, but with a characteristically vague post on Truth Social. On January 21, following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Trump announced he was withdrawing his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on eight European allies and ruled out using military force. In return, he claimed the two had formed the “framework of a future deal” for Greenland and the Arctic. This sudden de-escalation was less a resolution and more a revelation of pressure points. The threatened tariffs had sent Wall Street into its worst single-day decline since October, demonstrating the economic self-harm of his coercive strategy.

The substance of Trump’s “framework” remains conspicuously absent. Reports suggest discussions may involve the U.S. gaining “total access” to parts of Greenland for military purposes. Crucially, Trump’s language has shifted from “ownership” to “access,” a nod to political reality. Yet, the core ambition persists; he continues to frame Greenland as imperative for missile defense and minerals, bluntly stating the U.S. will achieve “all of its strategic goals… at very little cost, forever.” As Ole Wæver, a professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen, skeptically notes, this is likely a “pretend” deal. He argues, “NATO can’t negotiate minerals or ownership of territory for bases… Most likely, the main process now goes back… to a bureaucratic committee.”

The Unbreakable Red Line: How European and Greenlandic Resolve Forced a Climbdown

Trump’s tactical pivot was forced by an unprecedented and unified wall of resistance. European leaders had declared they “will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed.” The non-negotiable line was drawn by Denmark and Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated unequivocally, “We cannot negotiate on our sovereignty.” This was echoed by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who called sovereignty a “red line.” Perhaps more devastating was the visceral rejection from Greenlanders themselves; a new poll finds 85% of residents oppose joining the U.S.

Remarkably, this resistance transcended Europe’s political divides, isolating Trump even among ideological allies. In the European Parliament, typically pro-Trump, far-right figures condemned the threats. France’s Jordan Bardella called them “coercion,” while Germany’s Alice Weidel said Trump had “violated a fundamental campaign promise.” This unanimity was backed by concrete action: Denmark dispatched more troops to Greenland as part of “Operation Arctic Endurance,” making clear that its defense would be a collective endeavor.

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