Scott Taylor

Grateful. Dad, Businessman/investor Fmr U.S. Congressman, Fmr Virginia Delegate, @Harvard alum @USNavy SEAL

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@SoveyX Not AI

[Anna Paulina Luna @realannapaulina]

I still can’t believe this was what the military was like under Biden. Unhinged tbh.

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

A major win for actual citizens.

[CNN @CNN]

In a major win for President Donald Trump's efforts to find non-citizen voters, the Supreme Court on Friday said states can use a controversial citizenship data collection tool for reviewing voter rolls. https://t.co/Myk57xqS4C

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@piersmorgan Lol

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

Personally, I believe the "Former female civil servant" and ilk like her should be thankful that rough men exist who will protect them, even if they don't use their desired pronouns or say bad words...

[Larisa Brown @larisamlbrown]

EXCLUSIVE: Special forces soldiers believe they are “untouchable” and not all of them are the heroes they think they are, according to a former female civil servant who worked alongside them.

Monica Grenfell, who was employed at the Special Air Service (SAS) headquarters in Credenhill, near Hereford, for three years, said some of the elite troops were “feral” and it was “the nasty characters who really ruled the roost”.

She has given evidence under oath to the Afghan Inquiry and has now been interviewed by @thetimes
https://t.co/rFilV6wgDH

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@virginianpilot The Governor had, literally, nothing to do with this.

I guess it is simply too hard for the "news", to report facts (with accompanying photos) which put credit where it is due, if said credit sits with those they hate. Sad

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

Ok, we now have the actual text of the Greenland deal (https://t.co/VxZ1Q47jsh), so we can say how it compares to the existing 1951 arrangement and who, between Trump and Denmark, lied the most in their framing of it.

Long story short - which may surprise some - the Danes lied the most: Trump is pretty much correct in saying that this new deal grants the US control of Greenland.

Let's look into what changed compared to the 1951 deal.

1) This is now a permanent arrangement: whereas the existing 1951 deal only lasted as long as NATO existed, this one "does not have an end date and may only be amended by mutual consent."

It even survives a hypothetical future independence of Greenland: in that event, Denmark and Greenland must ensure that the independent Greenlandic state "affirmatively assume[s] all of the rights and obligations of the Kingdom of Denmark specified in this Agreement."

2) In the 1951 agreement, the US could set up bases only where both governments agreed, and only on the basis of NATO planning. The new deal locks in three bases: the US can "modernize and expand its activities" at Pituffik, its only base in Greenland until now, and "shall be allowed to establish an additional Defense Area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig." Further bases beyond these 3 can be justified by the defense of "the American continent," a US interest rather than a NATO one.

Also, quite subtle but this is interesting: Article IV(iii) says that "the United States may establish additional defense areas in Greenland" and that consultations are then held "to decide implementation details based on mutual agreement." What this means is that the principle of a new base is automatically granted and only the implementation details require agreement.

Article VII also gives the US "the right to raise concerns regarding construction, or change of use" of any building near a US base, after which the parties decide together what to do. Which means that the US has a say over civilian planning around its bases.

3) On US military movement across Greenland, the wording change between the 1951 agreement and this new one is quite funny.

The 1951 text said (Art. V(3)): the US "may enjoy... the right of free access to and movement between the defense areas through Greenland, including territorial waters, by land, air and sea," but only "in accordance with general rules mutually agreed upon and issued by the appropriate Danish authority in Greenland."

The new one says: "the United States of America shall enjoy... the right of free access to and movement between the Defense Areas through Greenland, including the Territorial Waters, by land, air and sea."

That's it: "May" becomes "shall," and the US military movement no longer has to follow rules "issued by the appropriate Danish authority in Greenland." The US also gets something new on top: "undersea access to and movement within the Territorial Waters," i.e. submarines.

4) Non-NATO exclusion: non-NATO states are barred from military installations or a persistent presence in Greenland unless all three parties approve, giving the US an effective permanent veto. The 1951 deal had no equivalent clause.

5) Investment screening: this is entirely new. "States or investors from a state that is not a member of NATO, a NATO partner, or an EU member state" (i.e. Russia, China, India, the Gulf States, etc.), "shall not be allowed to have (i) control, (ii) significant influence, or (iii) access to non-public information...within Particularly Sensitive Sectors or Activities in the territory of Greenland (including the Territorial Waters), unless agreed between the Parties."

Again, it basically means that the US has a permanent veto over who can invest in strategic sectors in Greenland, as far as non-NATO or EU states are concerned.

6) Lastly, in stark contrast with the 1951 deal, the framing of the deal changes significantly: this new deal is largely framed around the US.

The 1951 agreement existed only "for the benefit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization." The new one lists the defense of "the American continent" as an objective, celebrates "the irreplaceable role" of the United States military as well as "the United States' indispensable historical and ongoing contributions to the security and defense of Greenland," and names the establishment of Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system as a key goal.

So, to sum up:
- The US secured a permanent military foothold that even an independent Greenland would inherit whether it likes it or not
- The US now has veto power over any non-NATO military presence in Greenland, and over who can invest in its strategic infrastructure and resources (beyond NATO and the EU)
- Denmark signed away its say over the principle of new US bases, with only the right to discuss the "implementation details"
- Danish authorities no longer set the rules for US military movement across the island
- And all of it is now justified by the defense of "the American continent"

I don't know in which universe this even remotely "recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination," as Danish PM Mette Frederiksen put it (https://t.co/dHOavrPB3r).

Yes, the preamble of the text cynically "reaffirms" Danish sovereignty but, in my book, when you let a foreign country put bases on your soil, move its troops without following your rules and veto who else can come in, in perpetuity, after it spent two years threatening to take you by force, the word for that is anything but "recognized sovereignty" 🤷

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

On the trail with Abdul and Kamala 🎶

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@Polymarket Good, DEI is systemic racism...

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@nytimes Good. The mutilation and sterilization of young children, whose brains are not even formed yet, is a stain on the medical industry.

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

8 years ago. Great memories, an honor to serve! 🇺🇸

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@NBCNews FFS

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@libsoftiktok What are we doing?

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@DeptofWar Take this down

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@999saudsalman I landed here today as well. Same story, no issues whatsoever.

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@KalshiPolitics Would not leave my child alone with Talarico. That is the vibe he gives off.

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@Polymarket Unconstitutional

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@SebGorka @realDonaldTrump @politico @WhiteHouse This is brilliant and spot on.

[Scott Taylor @Scotttaylorva]

@RoKhanna Essentially, a normal week.