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US military pull out leaves Iceland with no armed forces Sat Sep 30, 4:25 PM ET
The United States completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Iceland, leaving the country with no permanent military protection, the Icelandic Foreign Ministry said.
"All the people have left. The base is normal now," Albert Jonsson, a foreign policy advisor to Icleandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde told AFP.
The last US military personnel left their base next to Iceland's remote Keflavik airport on Saturday, completing the US pullout from the country.
"At the beginning of the 1990s there were almost 3,000 military personnel," Jonsson said, adding that the family members brought the total population of the Keflavik base to around 6,000.
But by the time of Saturday's pullout, the base had been running on a skeleton staff and there were only about 60 people living there.
Asked what would become of the facility, Jonsson said the government was currently considering various options for its future but that no firm decisions had yet been taken.
"We are beginning to work for the base's conversion," the advisor said. "But we haven't decided yet exactly what we will do."
With the US withdrawal, Iceland becomes one of the few countries in the world to have no permanent military presence.
However, Reykjavik said recently it was not planning to create a national force to replace the US operation.
"We are not considering any alternative military options," Jonsson said.
The United States has guaranteed Iceland's defense since 1951 following an agreement between the two countries.
During World War II Keflavik was a key US base and it remained important to the NATO alliance during the cold war.
But in recent years its usefulness to the alliance has dwindled, prompting Washington's decision to abandon the base.
"The permanent presence will come to an end ... but the United States has said that it will continue to provide for the defense of Iceland," Jonsson told AFP recently.
Iceland was initially fiercely opposed to the departure of the US forces.
Close to 700 Icelanders were employed by the base, providing jobs for a sparsely populated corner of the island.
In addition, the base oversaw the maintenance of Keflavik International Airport, as well as providing the airport's fire department. It also assisted the Icelandic Coast Guard in search and rescue operations.
"The prime minister and foreign minister said the preference of the government was to have a minimum US presence based in Iceland ... but they have said that the (final agreement) is fully satisfactory," Jonsson said.
The United States completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Iceland, leaving the country with no permanent military protection, the Icelandic Foreign Ministry said.
"All the people have left. The base is normal now," Albert Jonsson, a foreign policy advisor to Icleandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde told AFP.
The last US military personnel left their base next to Iceland's remote Keflavik airport on Saturday, completing the US pullout from the country.
"At the beginning of the 1990s there were almost 3,000 military personnel," Jonsson said, adding that the family members brought the total population of the Keflavik base to around 6,000.
But by the time of Saturday's pullout, the base had been running on a skeleton staff and there were only about 60 people living there.
Asked what would become of the facility, Jonsson said the government was currently considering various options for its future but that no firm decisions had yet been taken.
"We are beginning to work for the base's conversion," the advisor said. "But we haven't decided yet exactly what we will do."
With the US withdrawal, Iceland becomes one of the few countries in the world to have no permanent military presence.
However, Reykjavik said recently it was not planning to create a national force to replace the US operation.
"We are not considering any alternative military options," Jonsson said.
The United States has guaranteed Iceland's defense since 1951 following an agreement between the two countries.
During World War II Keflavik was a key US base and it remained important to the NATO alliance during the cold war.
But in recent years its usefulness to the alliance has dwindled, prompting Washington's decision to abandon the base.
"The permanent presence will come to an end ... but the United States has said that it will continue to provide for the defense of Iceland," Jonsson told AFP recently.
Iceland was initially fiercely opposed to the departure of the US forces.
Close to 700 Icelanders were employed by the base, providing jobs for a sparsely populated corner of the island.
In addition, the base oversaw the maintenance of Keflavik International Airport, as well as providing the airport's fire department. It also assisted the Icelandic Coast Guard in search and rescue operations.
"The prime minister and foreign minister said the preference of the government was to have a minimum US presence based in Iceland ... but they have said that the (final agreement) is fully satisfactory," Jonsson said.
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