After months of threatening to take over Greenland by force, President Trump last week signed a 10-page agreement with Greenland and Denmark that bolsters the U.S. military presence on the mineral-rich and strategically located island but falls short of his earlier demands to make it American territory. Under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Treaty, the United States already has wide latitude to station forces and build military bases in Greenland. The U.S. currently has one active military base and around 160 troops on the ground. Under the new agreement, signed shortly after President Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week, the U.S. can build two new bases. The deal keeps Greenland as part of Denmark and would still apply if Greenland chooses independence.
“In many ways, the deal is good, because the right for self-determination is approved,” says Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut, the national organization for Greenlanders in Denmark. At the same time, “after threats [for] one-and-a-half years to annex Greenland, we don’t have the same faith or the same trust in Americans and the U.S. president.”
