US Military Expansion in Greenland: A National Security Question

Can the US expand its military presence in Greenland? Lucy Gilder BBC Verify journalist President Donald Trump has repeatedly framed arguments about annexing Greenland from Denmark as being a “national security” matter for the US and Nato. Earlier this month, senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller told CNN that “to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend Nato and Nato interests, obviously, Greenland should be part of the United States”. However, the US already plays a military role in Greenland and has maintained a presence there since World War Two. Currently the US operates one military base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base, whose responsibilities include missile defence and satellite communication. William Freer, a national security specialist at the Council on Geostrategy, told BBC Verify that the US is allowed “extensive military powers” in Greenland under several treaties and agreements with Denmark. One of these is the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, external, which is still in force. It states that “without prejudice to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark”, the US government is entitled to “fit the area for military use”, including installing facilities and stationing personnel in certain parts of Greenland. “During the Cold War, this treaty allowed for over 50 US military installations and almost 10,000 personnel to be positioned on the island”, says Freer. “Under existing agreements, the US could expand its presence once more.” Freer argues that a reason for the US taking over the island would be “the economic potential of Greenland’s mineral wealth”. Donald Trump repeats claim he ended eight wars Tamara Kovacevic BBC Verify senior journalist In a letter to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store - confirmed by the BBC’s US partner CBS News - President Trump reportedly wrote, external: “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace”. Store has responded by saying that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by an independent committee and not by the country of Norway. Trump’s questionable claim about stopping eight wars is one we have looked at in detail before. The White House has previously listed them as conflicts between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, Pakistan and India, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo. A number of these “wars” had lasted just days, although were the result of long-standing tensions - and in some cases – for example Egypt and Ethiopia - there was no fighting to end. There has also been fighting between Rwanda and the DRC, despite the two sides signing a peace agreement. You can read our full analysis here. Verifying newly emerged Iran protest video Kumar Malhotra, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Ghoncheh Habibiazad BBC Verify and BBC Persian We’ve been checking videos of anti-government protests in Iran which have been shared online in the last few days. The country is in the second week of a government-imposed internet shutdown with minimal connectivity. But some material is coming out, including a video from the capital Tehran, filmed at a roundabout where large numbers of protesters had gathered. In the footage, shots can be heard followed by panic and screams in the crowd. We matched the location to satellite imagery and checked this was not footage from previous waves of protests. While we can confirm the video has not be shared before this weekend, it’s not possible to be certain when it was filmed because the internet blackout has prevented Iranians from sharing videos in the immediate aftermath of an incident. There’s also video from the southern city of Dezful, said to be from 8 January, showing men dressed in black and security vehicles. At least twenty shots are heard, although it is not clear who is firing or what the target is. Another video we verified shows a group of men on motorbikes on the streets of Isfahan in central Iran, at least one of whom seems to be holding a weapon. The post said this was also from 8 January, which we have been able to confirm was the earliest date it had been shared. We’ve also verified several videos showing a mosque on fire in the northern city of Rasht, as well clips of two bank buildings and a courthouse which have been damaged.