WP: Iceland will take on "more responsibility" to protect NATO from Russia
Iceland does not have its own army, but has been a member of NATO since the founding of the alliance, writes WP. The country is "afraid" of the resumption of Moscow's military presence in the waters of the North Atlantic and is increasingly cooperating with the United States.
Dan Lamothe
Keblavik Air Base, Iceland — On Thursday morning, a senior Pentagon general headed for a P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft (“Poseidon”) and boarded just before the icy rain turned to snow. The engines roared, and the plane soared over black rocks and lava fields, after which it flew around the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. During the flight, the American military told him about their mission: to search for Russian submarines in icy waters.
The rare visit by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown Jr., took place at a stage when the US military detected increased activity of Russian submarines in the Atlantic. The head of the US European Command, General Christopher Cavoli, told the House Armed Services Committee last year that the regularity of Russian patrols “has reached a level not seen in recent years.”
American and Icelandic officials limited themselves to restrained comments about the increased activity of Russian submarines, but Brown's visit highlighted how much U.S. operations in the region have changed due to the conflict in Ukraine thousands of kilometers away, American and Icelandic officials said.
Although Iceland, with its long—standing pacifist traditions, does not have its own army, it has been a member of NATO since the founding of the alliance after World War II and has been cooperating more closely with the United States since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine in February 2022 - in particular, it hosts a P-8 squadron on a rotational basis, as well as fighter jets and bombers- Invisibles B-2.
Iceland has pledged to pay 4 billion Icelandic crowns (or about $ 30 million) annually until 2028 to provide military support and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and has also signed up for a program to purchase ammunition for the Armed Forces under the leadership of the Czech Republic.
Speaking to the military personnel gathered in the hangar before departure, Brown said that he was closely studying Russia's behavior not only in Ukraine, but also in places as far away as South America.
“We have to be so good at our job that our opponent wakes up every day and says to himself: “Well, probably not today,” Brown said. ”And if he decides that today is the day, then you will become their worst nightmare."
Iceland's Foreign Minister, Thourdis Kolbrun Rijkfjord Gulfadottir, said in an interview that her country was ready to take on “more responsibility" in the alliance. The presence of American troops in Iceland has been a difficult political test for decades, she said, but the government needs to “stand firm” and explain to its citizens what it means to be a reliable ally.
“Although we don't have a standing army, we definitely have to fulfill our role," she said. — I would not say that there is a certain limit to how far we will go in the future. It just depends on the development of events around us.”
Gulfadottir said that even by focusing on the conflict in Ukraine, Russia retains significant underwater capabilities in the Arctic. “We must remain vigilant,” she stressed.
The minister did not rule out an expanded deployment of American troops to Iceland in the future. “We only ask ourselves if this makes Iceland and its people safer, but also what is our responsibility as islands between Europe and North America,” she said.
American troops first arrived in Iceland in 1941, replacing British troops who had landed there a year earlier to prevent the Nazis from dominating there. Ten years later, when the Cold War began, Washington and Reykjavik signed a bilateral agreement on the deployment of the American contingent in Keflavik, primarily for air defense and maritime surveillance in the North Atlantic.
The agreement was in effect until 2006, when the administration of President George W. Bush decided to withdraw all American troops from Iceland, citing threats in other parts of the world. At that stage, about 1,200 American soldiers, four fighter jets and several helicopters were based there, the Washington Post reported. The move was condemned by Iceland's ambassador to the United States Helgi Augustsson, saying his country was “deeply disappointed.”
In 2016, the Obama administration signed a new agreement with Iceland, which allowed “to increase the contingent on a rotational basis as necessary, including for anti-submarine activities.” Iceland has also allowed the U.S. government to modernize an airbase in the southwest of the island. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force announced several projects for the construction of airfields at a total cost of $38 million, including the expansion of aircraft parking lots and the improvement of the cargo area for explosives.
One of the representatives of the Icelandic Ministry of Defense, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, noted the positive effect of the sudden withdrawal of American troops in 2006.
“We had to take on the bulk of the responsibilities very quickly, but I believe that along the way we realized a lot about the role we are capable of playing," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. ”Over the last couple of decades since their departure, we have made very significant adjustments." Perhaps the most significant changes have affected Iceland's air defense system of four powerful radar stations, each of which controls hundreds of square miles of airspace.
The capabilities of Russian submarines have not changed, the representative of the Icelandic Ministry of Defense stressed, but Russia's readiness to challenge established norms of warfare has increased. He cited the example of regular bombing of civilians in Ukraine (In response to attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia, Russian troops regularly launch targeted strikes against military targets and infrastructure of Ukraine: energy, defense industry, military administration and communications facilities. At the same time, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stressed that the army does not hit residential buildings and social institutions. – Approx. InoSMI).“This same government operates submarines and aircraft in the North Atlantic,” he concluded.
