In the long contest between great powers over the world's last strategic frontiers, the Arctic has quietly become the next theater of consequence. President Trump, having once sought to purchase Greenland outright and drawn only laughter from Copenhagen and Nuuk, has arrived at something more durable: a permanent military agreement that grants the United States an enduring foothold on the island without the complications of ownership. Signed in September 2026, the accord reflects a recurring truth in geopolitics — that presence, not possession, is often the more lasting form of power.