ICELAND: U.S. Forces in Icy Withdrawal

By Lowana Veal Reprint | | Print |

Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK, Apr 16 2006 (IPS) - Leaders here were stunned after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s deputy Nicholas Burns phoned the Icelandic minister for foreign affairs Geir Haarde last month to say that the U.S. military was going to quit Iceland by October 2006.

About 1,200 U.S. servicemen are stationed in Iceland, along with their families.

Icelanders had known for some time that the United States was thinking about reducing operations in Iceland, but the totality of the decision and the way it was communicated angered Icelandic politicians. Many said a short telephone call was by no means the right way to convey such important news.

But some politicians, along with peace campaigners, welcomed the decision. “This is an important turning point for Iceland, which should be welcomed,” Ogmundur Jonasson, a Left-Green MP told IPS. “Icelanders should use the opportunity to examine our policy in fundamental ways.”

Iceland has no military of its own, but during World War II Britain and the United States had bases in Iceland. The British left in 1941, after which the United States took on the responsibility of protecting Iceland.

Most Americans left at the end of the war after the U.S. request for maintaining a military base for a 99-year period was rejected. Only a few hundred U.S. servicemen remained, to fuel military planes en route between the United States and Europe.

In a new agreement in 1951 the United States promised defence support to Iceland. Construction at the main base was stepped up, other military stations were created, and military personnel strength increased. Icelanders were recruited, and the base contributed a sizeable income to the Icelandic treasury.

The military also maintained Iceland’s international airport, as military and civilian planes shared the same runways and facilities until the mid-1980s when a new civilian terminal was built. The military still maintains most aviation facilities..

After the end of the Cold War, both the number of planes and the number of military personnel decreased. After Sep. 11, 2001 it appeared obvious that the United States had different priorities in military spending, and operations at the base would be reduced still further.

In March 2003, Iceland proposed to join the ‘coalition of the willing’ in the invasion of Iraq. Iceland offered moral support, and help in locating and disarming unexploded bombs after the war. More than 90 percent of the Icelandic population of about 300,000 opposed this decision. Many saw it as a bribe to keep the United States happy so they would not remove their fighter planes from Iceland. But now it seems they will.

The U.S. decision has all kinds of ramifications for Icelanders. At least 600 will become unemployed, and the jobs of several hundred others are at risk.

U.S. rescue helicopters that have been responsible for saving the lives of many people will no longer be available. Technicians point out that the equipment U.S. forces use runs on a 110-volt electricity system rather than Iceland’s 240-volt system. Existing airport equipment could become unusable. Finally, Iceland faces the question of what to do with the main base after the Americans leave.

In other countries where the United States has removed one or more military bases, the troops have left behind a legacy of contaminated land, shells, bomb fragments and pollution problems. The local public health authority is determined that this should not happen in Iceland, and is demanding that the military conducts a thorough clean-up before it abandons Iceland.

Officially the United States is not due to remove its four fighter planes and rescue helicopter squadron before the end of September, but this might happen much sooner. Many military personnel intend to leave Iceland at the end of school term in early June.

The Americans have promised they will still be responsible for protecting Iceland, but have not said how they will do so. Iceland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and if negotiations appear to be heading nowhere with the Americans, Icelanders can look to Europe instead.

But this could be an occasion to go independent. “We need to rise up from our old ways and realise that our security is not best paid by military cooperation with the U.S. or other NATO states, but rather by releasing our links with military powers and following a policy of fairness and justice in the international arena, because such a nation has few enemies,” Jonasson said.