The overwhelming vote in Denmark's parliament was 94-11 to give the Pentagon access to three Danish airbases on Denmark.
Denmark, a NATO ally, is a Scandinavian country of 6 million scattered across hundreds of islands in the North Sea.
The approval is being viewed as a diplomatic olive branch after President Donald Trump has openly and repeatedly vowed to take over Greenland, a sovereign country, to challenge Russia and China’s access to the Arctic region.
The rugged island of Greenland, home to a tiny population of 56,000, is a whopping 836,000 square miles. The nation is technically owned by Denmark but has been moving closer and closer to self-rule, and farther away from Denmark’s authority, dating back to the 1970s.
Reacting to the parliament’s vote, national security analyst Bob Maginnis tells AFN the vote really is about control of Greenland. It also recognizes the United States and its key role in NATO.
“Because they are a NATO member, and it's a very small country, they don't want to alienate the primary funder behind NATO,” Maginnis, referring to Denmark, advises.
Among the many NATO members, Denmark currently contributes only about 1% to the NATO alliance.
The agreement will give the U.S. military access to Denmark’s air bases and its naval facilities, too, Maginnis says.
“And so it's good news, I think, for both countries,” he says.
