In March 2006, the United States announced the decision to close American facilities on the island and reassign the service members. Since then, U.S. and Icelandic officials have been working together to craft the new relationship.
A 65-year segment of history ends, when the last American service member based in the country leaves Iceland. However, the United States remains committed to defending Iceland despite the decision to withdraw troops from the country, the White House said. The US caught Iceland by surprise when it decided on a near total pullout from the Keflavik Naval Air Station. The plans called for withdrawing aircraft and 1,300 military and civilian personnel from the island. Iceland, a founding member of NATO, has asked the US how it will meet its defence obligations under a 1951 treaty. Another concern for Iceland is that about 700 of its citizens work on the base. 'The United States remains firmly committed to the defence of Iceland and to our broader defence relationship,' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. U.S. service members will continue to work with, train with and operate with their NATO ally, but troops will not be based in the island nation. The United States will continue to defend Iceland as part of the 1951 Defense Agreement between the two nations and as as a NATO ally. At one time, Iceland had more than 10,000 U.S. service members based there. Then, the threats came from first Nazi Germany and then the Soviet Union. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the threats have changed and come from new directions: terrorism, international crime, and drug trafficking, Hall said. The United States is stepping up its coordination with Iceland to help maintain the security of the country and the region against such emerging threats. U.S. forces could go back into the country quickly if conventional threats re-emerged, Hall said. The assistant secretary said there will be at least yearly exercises and U.S. ships will visit the nation on a regular basis.
