Nicolai Haugsted
US prepares military return to southern Greenland as new security deal takes shape.
Greenland could soon look a little more familiar to anyone with a very long memory of the Cold War.
American military activity on the enormous Arctic island has shrunk dramatically since its peak more than half a century ago. Only one permanent US military installation remains today, while Washington’s strategic interest in the region has returned with considerable force.
Now part of that old military map could be coming back to life.
According to Reuters, The United States plans to establish military bases at two additional locations in Greenland under a new agreement with Denmark and Greenland, according to three people familiar with the negotiations who spoke to Reuters.
One would revive an American military presence at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland, where the US operated a major base during the Second World War and early Cold War. Another would be established at Mestersvig on Greenland’s remote east coast.
Officials from all three countries are expected to sign the wider security agreement in New York on Tuesday.
America could return to a familiar address
Narsarsuaq has seen considerably quieter days since the Americans packed up.
US forces established Bluie West One there during the Second World War, turning the location into an important link between North America and Europe.
Thousands of aircraft passed through the base during the war, but America’s military presence eventually disappeared in the 1950s.
Only a small population remains in Narsarsuaq today.
According to Reuters’ sources, Washington now intends to re-establish a military base there as part of the new agreement.
Mestersvig offers a rather different proposition.
Located on Greenland’s east coast, the isolated military outpost is used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, the Danish military unit famous for conducting long-range patrols through some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet.
Reuters reports that Mestersvig would become the site of the second new US base.
Tuesday could put signatures on the plan
Denmark, Greenland and the United States are scheduled to sign their new agreement during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to Reuters.
Important details remain unsettled ahead of the ceremony.
The agreement has not been released publicly, while Reuters’ three sources cautioned that its final contents would not be fixed until the document is actually signed.
Neither the Danish nor Greenlandic governments immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The White House declined to discuss the reported locations but reiterated its earlier description of the agreement, saying Tuesday’s signing would “secure and defend the security of Greenland and the United States.”
Denmark wants NATO in the Arctic equation
Copenhagen has emphasized that Arctic security should remain a NATO responsibility rather than become a matter handled exclusively between Denmark and the United States.
Such a distinction carries considerable political weight after months of tension over Greenland.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that American control of the territory is important for US national security.
His campaign to acquire Greenland created a serious dispute with Denmark and Greenland, particularly after he declined at times to rule out economic or military pressure.
Polling has shown overwhelming opposition among Greenlanders to becoming part of the United States.
Trump’s pressure reached its most intense point in January and contributed to a diplomatic crisis between NATO allies. Negotiations involving Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk subsequently sought a security arrangement capable of addressing American concerns without transferring sovereignty over Greenland.
Tuesday’s expected agreement appears to be the product of those talks.
Greenland once hosted more than 10,000 Americans
Washington’s proposed expansion may sound dramatic compared with today’s modest American footprint, but history offers a very different scale.
The United States maintained 17 military installations across Greenland during the Cold War.
More than 10,000 American personnel were stationed there at the height of that presence.
Most of those sites disappeared as Cold War priorities changed.
Pituffik Space Base – formerly known as Thule Air Base – is now the sole remaining permanent US military installation on the island, with roughly 150 American military personnel stationed there.
Its position in northwestern Greenland makes the base strategically valuable for missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance.
Adding Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig would give Washington a presence in very different parts of the island.
Arctic geography has become valuable again
Greenland’s importance stems largely from a feature nobody can negotiate away: its location.
The island sits between North America and Europe and occupies a crucial position in an Arctic region receiving growing military attention from the United States, Russia and NATO.
Melting sea ice has also increased interest in Arctic shipping routes and access to resources, while Russia maintains substantial military infrastructure across its northern territories.
Trump has used those strategic considerations repeatedly when arguing that Greenland matters to American security.
Denmark has responded by increasing its own Arctic defense commitments while insisting that Greenland is not for sale and that decisions concerning its future belong to Greenlanders.
The reported agreement would offer Washington something considerably more tangible than another round of diplomatic statements: additional places from which American forces could operate.
Cold War history may be getting a sequel
Narsarsuaq makes the symbolism particularly difficult to miss.
American forces left their old base there more than seven decades ago. Washington could now be preparing to return under vastly different geopolitical circumstances.
Mestersvig would meanwhile extend the new American footprint to Greenland’s sparsely populated east coast, where military logistics come with conditions that make an ordinary deployment look positively comfortable.
Plenty still depends on the final agreement.
Tuesday’s signatures should reveal whether the two locations appear as Reuters’ sources describe them and what exactly Washington will be permitted to build, station or operate there.
Greenland once hosted an American military network stretching across the island.
Washington is not rebuilding all 17 bases – but if the agreement lands as reported, the number of active US locations is about to start moving upward again.
