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U.S., Denmark, Greenland Sign Radar Upgrade Pact
The United Stated, Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement Friday to modernize a U.S. early warning radar system at Thule air base in northwestern Greenland, as part of the U.S. missile defense effort, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 30). “Together we will meet the security challenges of the 21st century, from missile defense to international terrorism,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said at the signing ceremony held in Igaliku, an Inuit village of about 40 inhabitants. Powell and his Danish and Greenland counterparts, Per Stig Moeller and Josef Motzfeldt, signed the agreement, according to AFP. Thule is the northernmost U.S. Air Force installation and operates an early warning system for ballistic missiles. Local authorities have opposed expanding the base’s capabilities to include missile interceptors. Powell said it is too early to discuss such a capability at Thule. “Right now we are some distance from determining where we might need interceptors,” he said. “There is no plan right now for anything other than what we have already made known to the home-rule government (of Greenland) and Kingdom of Denmark,” he added. Denmark is not automatically opposed to missile defense, but “we have said yes to that (the agreements signed Friday) and nothing else,” said Danish Foreign Minister Moeller. Powell added that the United States did not “want to do anything that would put at risk the strong relationship we have had for many, many years.” “The updated agreement provides for consultations so that we are partners and we will move forward together,” he said. “It allows us to make sure that we are providing for the kinds of threats that the civilized world might see in the future (from rogue states),” he added. Before the signing ceremony, Powell toured Norse ruins dating from 1200 and dined on local delicacies such as roast musk ox, reindeer steak, smoked salmon and halibut, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 6). Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today that the U.S. agreement with the two nations could pose a threat to Russia’s security, Reuters reported. “The United States has more than once assured us that the future missile defense system will not be targeted against Russia,” the ministry said in a statement. “However, the very geography of the radar in Greenland gives us reasons to think that even at this stage the U.S. missile defense could potentially threaten Russia’s national security,” it adds. “Russia will carefully analyze the situation from the point of view of its own security and reserves the right to take all appropriate measures to maintain it on an appropriate level,” the statement said without providing details (Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 9).
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