That's right, Charrison.
It sure is a good thing there's NO difference between a friendly country such as Iceland, wanting a U.S. presence... as opposed to a volitile middle eastern country that... doesn't want a U.S. presence. Oh well... "Classic America can't do anything right", right?
maybe we can quietly bring home the four F-15 jets and replace them with four P-51 Mustangs from WWII, I don't think the icelanders can tell the differences...
they will be as good "air defense" as 4 F-15 can be...
they will be as good "air defense" as 4 F-15 can be...
P-51s are very rare today. I wouldn't put all of those eggs into the Icelander's basket. Perhaps the U.S. could arrange for a shipment of a few Segways instead? I'm not sure if Segways are tested on rugged terrain but you could chain-up the tires in case Iceland ever gets a good dose of ice.
Lets use SK as an example. The populance complained about us being there until the military offered to leave. It seems not many in SK really wanted us to leave.
Lets also use Germany as an example. German bases just are not needed anymore. Ramstein is likely to stay, but the rest are likely to closed or shrunk. Now Germany is complaining about these closings.
We want to remove our troops from Bosnia and Kosovo. Everytime we time we do Europe complains about us not doing enough.
It seems my classic example of America can do right is more often correct than incorrect.
Yep. Also see Czar's "insightful" comment from above:
They call the cow nearly every name in the book. They criticize the color and texture of his hide. They criticize his walk. They scream obscenities at the cow. They constantly remind him of how "awful" and "evil" he his.
But good golly Miss Molly, they sure love the hell outta that sweet milk.
To be fair, Iceland does have some valid complaints. The economic impact of pulling the soldiers and the associated jobs that go with it would be equivilant to slightly under 3 million jobs in the U.S-and from what I've heard it would happen rather fast. That is assuming the soldiers are pulled.
Actually, I've talked to a few people that have been stationed there, and they all liked it. Maybe you're thinking about Thule Air Base in Greenland or Eielson in Alaska.
Tough. Military bases overseas were never intended as US government handouts to host countries. The reason for the base no longer exists since Russia's military is rusting these days.
Indeed you are correct. But what's the sense in pissing off a rather staunch ally if a gradual withdrawal could be made? No explanation has been given for the urgency of why the jets need to be removed.
Well, I was more speaking of the troops. As of yet I don't think there are any definitive plans to remove them, but it's kinda complicated.
I've been reading up at another forum on this topic where several icelanders have posted in detail the consequence the removal of the jets might ultimately have. It's a good read if you have time.
Sure, keeping good relations is important. I think the F-15s are rotated out of RAF Lakenheath anyway. And we have withdrawn a significant amount of personnel from there since 1995.
But here is my question then since an agreement was "reached" in 1994 between Iceland and the US essentially concluding that the Cold War was indeed over. How much longer? And suppose we continue operations there, how much more is the Icelandic government willing to contribute for their own defense (read: economic assistance to the tune of 1.5% GDP).
The installation there isn't all that large so moving it won't take very long. Since money is ALWAYS tight in the military because of competing priorities, moving them quickly saves money in the short and long term. Plus, if as it says above, the contract was up two years ago (haven't read it for myself), then it's hardly a "sudden move". It hasn't been a close-held secret that the Soviet Union died over a decade ago.
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