Latest / Best of: Features / Trump has a deal to build US military presence in Greenland while leaving island in Denmark's hands

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Trump has a deal to build US military presence in Greenland while leaving island in Denmark's hands · Best of: Features

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  Trump has a deal to build U.S. Military presence in Greenland while
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  leaving island in Denmark's hands. Written by Aymer Medani and Ben Finley.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice, generated by Everlet.
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  Washington, the AP. President Donald Trump announcing Friday he has a deal
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  with Denmark to bolster the US military presence in Greenland, after months
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  of threatening to take the island by force from the NATO ally,
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  an agreement that also keeps the Arctic territory in Denmark's hands. Trump
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  in a social media post announcing the deal said the emerging agreement
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  gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs
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  in Greenland, completely addressing all of our many US concerns. He added
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  that with the agreement his administration would immediately begin the process of
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  developing a larger military presence on the mineral rich Danish territory. The
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  deal came after officials from US, Greenland, and Denmark quietly negotiated for
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  months behind the scenes, searching for solutions to address some of Trump's
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  security concerns about a territory of roughly fifty six thousand residents. For
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  Trump, the Greenland issue had largely been put on the backburner as
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  he launched a military operation to oust former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduo
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  from power, and joined with Israel to start a war against Iran.
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  With the announcement of the pact, Trump is able to tout a
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  foreign policy achievement ahead of the midterm elections. The six month old
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  Iran conflict has reshaped the race, undermining Trump's campaign pledge to steer
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  clear of foreign conflicts and challenging Republicans as they cling to narrow
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  majorities in Congress. The office of Denmark's Prime
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  Minister Met Frederickson, said the deal will be signed by all three
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  governments next week, during the United Nations General Assembly, but parliamentary action
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  is still needed by the Danish and Greenland governments before it can
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  be enforced. In a statement she said, The agreement recognizes the sovereignty
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  and territorial integrity of Greenland and Denmark, and upholds both people's right
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  to self determination. Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederick Nielsen said
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  the emerging deal benefits all three governments and recognises Greenland's interests. Allies
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  pushed back on Trump's call for the US to acquire Greenland, With
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  his return to the White House last year, Trump called on Denmark
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  to sell the island to the United States. While insisting Greenland is
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  crucial for U.S. Security, he pointedly wouldn't rule out taking the island
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  by military force, even though Denmark is a NATO ally of the
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  U.S. Denmark and Greenland repeatedly said the island is not for sale
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  and condemned reports of the
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  U.S. Gathering intelligence there. The US push for Greenland was also fiercely
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  opposed by Russia and much of Europe. But Trump with the announcement
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  Friday suggested an understanding may have been reached that could being an
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  end to what was viewed as an existential crisis by Denmark. We
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  look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland
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  toward a magnificent future with respect to this large and highly strategic
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  parcel of land, Trump said in his post. We will be very
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  protective of it. Trump had claimed the US needs Greenland to deter
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  threats from Russia and China, and has repeatedly made false claims of
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  Chinese and Russian military forces lurking off the island's coastline. The agreement
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  bans any non NATO base in Greenland.
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  Limits adversaries from being able to make investments in Greenland, and guarantees
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  that China and Russia cannot have a Base
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  in Greenland, according to a State Department official who was not authorized
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  to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Secretary of
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  State Marco Rubio cheered the statement as a historic deal and huge
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  win for the United States. Greenland will forever be part of the
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  strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it
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  and the surrounding area, Rubio said. This deal permanently and completely addresses
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  our national security concerns in Greenland. The island is crucial to North
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  America's defense. But the US has long had a military presence in
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  Greenland, holding several bases and installations through the Cold War before dialing
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  back its presence. The U.S. Still operates the remote Pitific Space Base
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  in northwestern Greenland which was built after the US and Denmark signed
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  the Defense of Greenland Treaty in nineteen fifty one. It supports missile
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  warning, missile defense, and space surveillance operations for
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  the US and NATO. Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada,
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  with more than two thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic
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  Circle. That has made it crucial to the defense of North America
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  since World War two, when the US occupied Greenland, to ensure it
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  didn't fall into the hands of Nazi Germany, and to protect vital
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  North Atlantic shipping lanes. Despite Trump's repeated aggressive comments toward Denmark about
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  Greenland, Danish officials had repeatedly made clear that they stood ready to
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  work with the US to expand the American military presence and strengthen
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  US commercial interests in Greenland. Still, Trump's repeated demands for Greenland and
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  threats to take it by force rattled the NATO alliance and discomfited
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  European allies, said Imran Bayumi, an associate director at the Atlantic Council's
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  Skowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. I think Americans really underestimate how
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  damaging it was for the image of the United States and Europe,
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  he said. I think Greenlanders, Danes, Europeans saw this as a real
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  attack on their sovereignty, and it's going to take a lot of
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  work to repair. The AP diplomatic writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting.