Mary Wells | 10/18/2008 10:06 am

Iceland's Former NATO and US Air Force Base a Prize For Russia? That's The Rumor in London.

Iceland, Russia, United State, NATO, Air Force Base, Keflavik

Google Maps, wowOwow

Last night at a posh London dinner party, the Gypsy of wowOwow learned that the question circulating among the European cognoscenti concerns how the American press has missed the strategic implications of a possible Russian bail-out of financial basket case, Iceland.

Why the concern?

The presence of former United States Naval Air Station Keflavik on the southern tip of Iceland.

Decomissioned in 2006, this outpost was a strategic NATO and US base during and after the Cold War. Home to the the United States Air Force’s 85th Group, the Iceland Defense Force (NATO) and U.S. Naval Hospital Keflavik, the concern is that it could become a key strategic geo-political prize in any potential bail out by oil-producing and oligarch-riddled Russia.

Geopolitics being what they are…and one glance at the above Google Map helpfully provided to the American press by the Gypsy…should make the EU and NATO countries think twice about refusing to help out the Icelanders before the Russians lend a cold (war) hand.

Read more about: Air Force Base, Bail-Out, financial crisis, Iceland, London, NATO, News, Russia

48 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Thank you, Mary for always very interesting posts, infos……etc….. Think “global” and read David Brooks article “thinking about Obama” Very interesting times indeed!

By sibelle daubigne on 10/18/2008 1:39 pm

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sibelle: David Brooks article “thinking about Obama” Brooks always leaves you with a little something to think about, doesn’t he. Thanks for pointing me towards it.

By Marjorie C. on 10/18/2008 3:49 pm

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Hi Marjorie I think I will take a look at the article as well. What does Russia need more land for? They don’t even have enough people to populate their own country, and they are sick and dying. They are reproducing at less than .8 per capita and so tell me what they need with more countries. There is no doubt in my mind that they want Iceland for natural resources, as well as being strategically placed between the US and Europe. So here is my question, where is Condoleeza Rice (the Russian Expert), where are the Canadians and the Europeans to counter this situation? If the move on Georgia hadn’t been made aggressively, as well as poisoned journalists and other opposition leaders against the Russian government ending up dead mysteriously, I wouldn’t be so concerned. Sooner or later this will end up with the US having to do something again. Endless budgets spent on cloaked enemies. Mary, Thanks for the heads up. I don’t have much faith in the press anymore. They are either trying to kiss one presidential nominees proverbial behind, or kick the other one’s out of town. Many have become so self-indulgent that it is ridiculous. When the Iraq war dragged on and got worse and worse, not just by our government’s mistakes, but by the press fueling the fires of the insurgencies, they (the press) became self reflective and asked “why didn’t we question this war move more? Why didn’t we investigate more?” They didn’t because they were too concerned what the other guy was saying and took their eye off the ball. Thank God for the really great ones (you ladies know I am talking about Lesley Stahl). I know there is a difference between opinion and news stories, but they don’t anymore. Many people don’t listen to them anymore because of actual and perceived bias. They need to clean up their act or face the fact that many of them are just mediocre and more tuned into trying to skewer someone then research, investigate and chase down what is important for the integrity of our freedom. I get more information from Bonnie, Marjorie, Star, Deni and Mugsy than from the punditocracy or so called journalists. Wake up America.

By Frannie Em on 10/18/2008 4:16 pm

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Here is a link to David Brooks article:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17brooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

By Frannie Em on 10/18/2008 4:41 pm

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Well said, Frannie Em. Oh, how we need David Halberstam. Peace and grace

By beth willis on 10/19/2008 7:32 pm

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yeah, tired of high-paid ‘talking-heads’—-i get sick—-unless it’s the 80’s rock band—-i’ve even given up on Charlie Rose—-as you age, you discover, watching this old ‘dog & pony show’ is total waste—-

By gulliver fourmyle on 10/20/2008 12:04 am

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Frannie, Here is an interesting site that has many articles about Iceland’s crisis. Also, please note that the American base they are talking about was abandoned by the USA in 2006. Its not active at all. Canada is keeping a close eye on Russia right now. We are quite annoyed that Russia planted a flag on the ocean bottom in territory which has disputable sovereignty in the Arctic recently. It would seem it was to shock the American subs patrolling that area. You see, the opening of the Northwest passage (Canadian) and the melting of the caps is going to revolutionize the shipping industry and provide a massive new territory of untapped natural resources for all the countries up there who have rights to the continental shelf protruding from their various positions. Russia knows this, and Canada is well aware of it too. We have 10 years to map the ocean bottom, and then the games begin. Iceland is well-positioned to take fantastic advantage of this new growth in the region. McCain’s no dummy. He chose Palin because he or his smarty-pants strategists, want to draw focus to this region for a purpose yet unknown to us unsuspecting Canadians. People can claim she’s as dumb as a bag full of bear traps, but I for one am not fooled by the pageant-like presentation of this VEEP potential. Any people in her territory who have have run-ins with her say that she is not one to be crossed. Be afraid. Our “Bush” just got back in power. Many Canadians are shocked. They will do the largest construction deal in the history of the planet building new gas lines through Canada. We already have so much pipeline crisscrossing our nation that if you laid it end to end, it would reach the MOON. (fact, not a joke). In the past 2 weeks alone, two different bombs were set to blow it up in northern BC. It didn’t work though. They just found big craters in the ground. Those pipes are really built to withstand everything. But It seems like it might get ugly up here. We need to start with finding new technology. That is for sure. And ween ourselves off the big oil/gas guzzle. Thanks.

By Amelie Poulain on 10/20/2008 1:15 pm

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The U.S. voluntarily gave up one its hundreds of military installations located in every corner of the planet? Obviously the southern coast of Iceland is not a great place for locating golf courses or other recreation facilities for officers. And if the Icelanders can get something of benefit for it, more power to them. I say, let Putin have it.

By Michael Salling on 10/18/2008 3:15 pm

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The U.S. voluntarily gave up one its hundreds of military installations located in every corner of the planet? By Michael Salling on 10/18/2008 4:15 pm Aloha Michael, Did we leave out the word “of” perhaps, :)

By HA BIBI on 10/18/2008 3:26 pm

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who needs ‘stationary’ installations, with all those Trident H-Bomb attack subs, and god knows how many ‘killer’ subs to protect them? ‘stationary’ has become ‘sitting-duck’. or something to scribble on—-:)

By gulliver fourmyle on 10/19/2008 12:19 am

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well, what bothers me is the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1st place—-certainly the place was as corrupt as most large nations, but all their collapse did was usher in far greater corruption—-and fostered a monster global Russian ‘gang’—-and the rise of Putin, former KGB chief as near monarch? sort of like making G. Gordon Liddy ‘King’ of the USA—- there is still strong pressure from Average Russians to return to communism (please remember the ‘dreaded’ term simply means ‘nation-as-commune’—-they are getting screwed, glued, stone robbed, murdered as needed by Putin, the rise of the Russian Mafia, oligarchs, etc., makes The Godfather a ‘nice-guy. furthermore, it’s a disaster for us—-so much ‘weapons-grade’ plutonium has ‘vanished, both here, but far more there, Now the situation seems more dangerous than ‘the cold-war’—-which obviously could never have turned ‘Hot’ due to MAD (mutually-assured-destruction)—-and short of a Second Revolution, i see no hope for ‘average Russians’—-too late—- when you consider a ‘suit-case h-bomb’, several, could ‘whack’ NYC, D.C., LA—-Putin scares the hell out of me. i know, ‘ya can’t judge a book by its cover’—-but this guy’s ‘demeanor, appearance’ are more than ‘spooky’—-he’s no ‘cowboy-bad-actor’—-Now, all he has to do is funnel plutonium to ‘terrorist’—-we’re toast, and his hands appear clean—-simply ‘one-bad-boy’. i feel to give him anything, other than what he’s given his opponents? bad move—-

By gulliver fourmyle on 10/18/2008 7:50 pm

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Do you really think Putin would funnel plutonium to terrorists after what happened to the Russian school children and their teachers from the Chechnyan terrorists? I don’t think so. He doesn’t want to give up power. If he gives it away they might come after him. I could see him doing it if he wanted to destabilize areas that we try to stabilize.

By Frannie Em on 10/19/2008 2:38 am

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if i thought Putin gave a pootin’ about Anything but increasing His power, i wouldn’t be worried—-aside from the Likud, the KGB was and probably remains the most formidable ‘intelligence’ bunch around—-simply as both are highly ‘centralized’—-not fractured into what becomes competing agencies—-i know we, post 9/11, were ‘getting our agencies ‘in-line’—-easier said than done—-sorta comes down to ‘Does Macy’s Tell Gimble’s’? we’ve still the NSA, CIA, FBI—-all ‘holding their cards’ to themselves—-dumb—-we should Learn. Putin is probably the most cunning, informed, and dangerous (via his past) man on earth. No way would he release ‘bomb-grade’ stuff foolishly—-he’s not the Bushmaster—-(duhh?)—-this guy really knows ‘what’s-what’—-a master strategist—-and it’s your last sentence that sums the risk of this guy—-when you consider the close ties of Putin to Iran (vs. Israel)—-i do not consider the ‘cold-war’ as over—-simply now hidden—-

By gulliver fourmyle on 10/19/2008 6:12 pm