Cold War pact gives U.S. broad military access to Greenland, analysts say

President Trump has again floated buying Greenland and at times suggested the United States could take the island, saying, "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security." Analysts and officials note, however, that a little-known Cold War agreement already grants the United States sweeping military access in Greenland.

The 1951 pact, signed by the United States and Denmark, allows the U.S. to "construct, install, maintain, and operate" military bases across Greenland, "house personnel" and "control landings, takeoffs, anchorages, moorings, movements, and operation of ships, aircraft, and waterborne craft." The United States now has one base in a remote corner of the island, the Pittufik Space Base, and the agreement was updated in 2004 to include Greenland's semiautonomous government and to require consultation before "any significant changes" to military operations.

The roots of the pact go back to World War II, when Denmark was occupied and its ambassador in Washington struck a defense agreement for Greenland; American troops then built numerous bases, most of which were closed after the Cold War. Danish and Greenlandic officials push back on any sale or takeover: a poll found 85 percent of residents opposed an American takeover, Greenland's prime minister Jens‑Frederik Nielsen said, "Our country is not for sale," and researcher Mikkel Runge Olesen said the U.S.

"can pretty much do what it wants" under the agreement.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, Denmark, Donald Trump, Pittufik Space Base