Confronting Strategic Irrelevance: The End of a US-Icelandic 'Security Community'?

摘要

Given the loss of Iceland's strategic importance, the United States has not been ready to pay the price for the political support of a small state with minuscule international influence. The backing for the Iraq war had, for example, absolutely no impact on the US decision to withdraw the fighter jets. It required the direct intervention of Lord Robertson, and a harshly worded reply from former Prime Minister Oddsson to a letter from President Bush to reverse the decision. The State Department under Colin Powell was, in contrast to other historical attempts in the 1960s and 1990s to withdraw the jets, powerless - or perhaps unwilling -to prevent it on political grounds. It seems odd that a question of four fighter jets (with supporting infrastructure, that is, five Sikorsky HH-60G search-and-rescue helicopters, two refuelling planes and radar control staff) caused so much political commotion.