US Expands Relations w. Greenland In Exchange For Radar Upgrades

[hatrack]

IGALIKU, Greenland, August 9, 2004 (ENS) - Agreements broadening environmental, economic, and technical cooperation between the United States, Denmark and Greenland were signed here on Friday after two years of negotiation. The accord, which modernizes the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, paves the way for an upgrade of radar facilities at Thule Air Base to support the U.S. missile defense program. The agreements were signed by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Greenland Deputy Premier Josef Motzfeldt, and Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller. Greenland became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953 and was granted home rule in 1979.

During an interview with Greenland TV on Friday, Powell said the Thule Air Base is "really designed to make sure that we have in place the kinds of surveillance operations and activities that would be useful if these rogue nations, these nations that we know were developing long-range missiles and could carry weapons of mass destruction, actually are able to put these weapons in place."

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Under the new accord, an Environmental Subcommittee is established to meet regularly to identify and address environmental issues and recommend countermeasures to risks posed by environmental contamination affecting the Thule Defense Area and adjacent areas.
Powell told the TV audience, "With respect to Thule, we are going to be doing more to make sure that the environment is protected and that we are not doing anything at Thule that would in any way damage this beautiful country."

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Assessments of the potential for oil and gas drilling and extraction of minerals are also planned."

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http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2004/2004-08-09-02.asp

Oh no, we'd never do anything to hurt Greenland's environment . . .