Trump spent 18 months threatening to take Greenland and ended up with a security deal. Am I missing something?

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Trump spent 18 months threatening to take Greenland and ended up with a security deal. Am I missing something? in z/geopolitics

So Trump announced Friday that the US now has "permanent control" over Greenland's security. Greenland stays Danish. The three governments are expected to sign at the UN next week. Denmark kept the island and the receipt, and somewhere a "Greenland is not for sale" sign is doing a victory lap.

The 1951 deal: The US already had broad military presence, basing rights and near total overflight access in Greenland. It runs Pituffik Space Base in the northwest to this day.

What Trump says the new one adds:

  • No US adversary can have a base, a military presence, or make sensitive investments in Greenland without US written approval
  • The US starts building a "large military presence" right away
  • The US works with Greenlanders on development and construction
  • "Permanent control over security, and all other needs"
  • No cost to the US

What we don't know: Reporting says it's unclear how much of this is actually new, since the text isn't out yet. The blocking Russia and China from bases part is the one experts think Denmark and Greenland will have the least trouble with. It also still needs approval from both parliaments, and Denmark and Greenland say it recognizes their sovereignty.

Real win, or the old deal with a new coat of paint? Let me know in the comments

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