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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   7444 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 21, 2026

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The Greenland Deal has been signed and its full text has been released. As expected, it is mostly concerned with military matters. Some highlights:

  1. The United States will be allowed to expand its presence at Pituffik Space Base, seemingly without restriction.
  2. The United States will be allowed to create two more military bases in Narsarsuaq (south Greenland) and Mestersvig (East Greenland). These bases, alongside Pituffik, will allow the US to effectively defend Greenland from all directions and control the entire coast much more easily.
  3. If the U.S. wants any further bases, it will be able to propose them without restriction to a standing committee for evaluation.
  4. The U.S. will fulfill its defense needs through contracts with Greenlandic businesses and with Greenlandic labor, whenever feasible.
  5. The U.S. will be allowed to maintain "unmanned military installations" as needed. I'm assuming this primarily relates to autonomous missile defense systems.
  6. The U.S. will be granted unlimited access to Greenlandic waters and airspace, both via military vehicles and commercial/public vehicles, so long as they do not significantly disrupt hunting and fishing activities.
  7. The intelligence agencies of the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland will engage in complete cooperation to "prevent espionage" in the territories, as needed.
  8. No non-NATO states will be allowed any military presence in Greenland, nor will they be allowed any significant investment or economic presence of any kind.

Overall, it seems pretty decent and exactly what the U.S. will need to maintain strength as the Arctic becomes increasingly relevant as a missile route from Russia/China. I took a quick look at the prior agreements between America and Denmark w/r/t Greenland, and this does appear to be a meaningful improvement. Prior agreements designated Pituffik (then called Thule) as the only permissible American presence on the island. This 2026 agreement is the first to stipulate the creation of new bases and offer a path for continued expansion. It also strikes me as much warmer in tone. Prior agreements had all sorts of trepidatious language, whereas this one is far more amenable to the idea of a U.S. military presence. While I'm not one to cheer for wanton expansion of the military, this does seem to be a strategic boon, and something Trump can rightfully praise.

The U.S. will be granted unlimited access to Greenlandic waters and airspace, both via military vehicles and commercial/public vehicles, so long as they do not significantly disrupt hunting and fishing activities.

Pretty important concession given all the European countries that cockblocked airspace usage for iran-conflict related purposes.

Did Denmark or Greenland get anything in return for all of this?

The U.S. will fulfill its defense needs through contracts with Greenlandic businesses and with Greenlandic labor, whenever feasible.

This is technically an economic concession to Greenland. They have a client that's treaty bound to prefer them as suppliers, if they are able to fulfill the demand. Whether Greenlanders are able to seize the opportunity is doubtful, but it's an opportunity. If I were a Greenlander with some extra cash kicking around, I'd be looking at what supplies an american military base is likely to need.

I can't imagine the Greenlandic economy being able to provide much more besides seal meat and manual labor to US military specifications, though the idea of enlisted personnel using tauntauns dogsleds driven by natives to get around is quite humorous

They don’t need to produce it, just provide it. I imagine a dozen middlemen organizations are about to pop up in Greenland, buying supplies from overseas and selling them to the US at a markup.

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