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### Viewing cable 06REYKJAVIK359, Iceland: Press and Politicos Respond to Defense

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06REYKJAVIK359 | 2006-09-27 18:03 | 2011-01-13 05:37 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Reykjavik

`

    VZCZCXRO2283
    OO RUEHAST
    DE RUEHRK #0359/01 2701803
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    O 271803Z SEP 06
    FM AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2982
    INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
    RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO IMMEDIATE 0259
    RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0231
    RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY 0034
    RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 REYKJAVIK 000359

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    SIPDIS

    DEPT FOR P (BAME), EUR/NB (MIDDLETON, MAHER), EUR/PPD
    SECDEF FOR OSD/RA (COSTA), OSD/P (KELSO, HURSCH)
    OSLO FOR DATT

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: MARR PREL KPAO NATO IC
    SUBJECT:  Iceland: Press and Politicos Respond to Defense
    Agreements

    REF: REYKJAVIK 357

    REYKJAVIK 00000359  001.2 OF 002

    ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Icelandic press reaction to the Prime Minister's
    September 26 announcement of the results of defense talks with the
    U.S. (Reftel) has been measured and largely favorable.  Opposition
    party expressions of discontent center on two points: 1) the
    Government's failure to make public the details of U.S. plans for
    the defense of Iceland; and 2) complaints that the USG has "escaped"
    from full responsibility for any environmental mitigation costs.
    Post will continue to work with the media to fill in gaps in their
    knowledge and correct erroneous reports.  End Summary.

    ¶2.  (U) Media reporting on September 27, the day after Prime
    Minister Geir Haarde's announcement of the outcome of defense talks
    with the U.S. (reftel) was largely straightforward and accurate.
    Daily newspaper-of-record Morgunbladid (generally pro-government but
    viscerally critical of the U.S. decision to withdraw forces) ran its
    lead editorial under the headline, "A New Chapter":

    --After the U.S. conveyed its unilateral decision in March about
    departure of military forces, Iceland was put in a difficult
    negotiating position;

    --Icelandic authorities have done well under the circumstances and
    have ensured the nation's interests are protected;

    --The most controversial issue is that the U.S. doesn't have to pay
    for environmental clean-up;

    --The deal provides that the U.S. is responsible for defending
    Iceland, according to the 1951 Defense Agreement, even if means of
    providing that defense are not what Icelandic authorities wanted;
    and

    --The time has passed when Iceland could have relied solely on
    others for defense.

    ¶3. (U) The lead editorial in the high-circulation Frettabladid
    (which generally leans toward the opposition and is often skeptical
    of USG policy) appeared under the headline, "Back on Highway One"
    (i.e., back on track), and commented:

    -- Iceland retains a clear defense policy that ensures security of
    the nation, in which the U.S. plays the key role; and

    --It would have been irresponsible for the GOI to have abrogated the
    1951 Defense Agreement (note: as some, including former PM David
    Oddsson, have suggested should have been done).

    ¶4.  (U) The PM and key members of his Independence Party continued
    their media efforts as well:

    -- Haarde appeared on multiple TV news shows to reiterate and
    amplify the message from his initial press conference that the
    agreements ensure Iceland's continued defense, represent the best
    available outcome for both sides, and point to the way ahead for
    Iceland-U.S. security relations.

    --Minister of Justice Bjorn Bjarnason (comment: an early critic of
    the U.S. withdrawal; end comment) said he was pleased with the
    agreements and that people were "making too much of" environmental
    concerns regarding the base.  Bjarnason (comment: one of Iceland's
    most security-conscious leaders; end comment) also voiced enthusiasm
    for increased police and counterterrorism exchanges between the U.S.
    and Iceland.

    -- Parliamentarian Bjarni Benediktsson, a rising leader of the next
    generation of the Independence Party, was trotted out on the talk
    show circuit to declare that the agreements secured the defense of
    Iceland and set the stage for future cooperation.

    ¶5. (SBU) Opposition figures also tried to get their views out,
    though they garnered less coverage:

    --Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, chair of the leading opposition
    Social Democratic Alliance simultaneously welcomed the fact that
    there will be no foreign military forces stationed in Iceland during
    peacetime, and criticized the GOI for "leaving the public ill at
    ease" about its safety by agreeing to a "secret" defense plan.  She

    REYKJAVIK 00000359  002.2 OF 002

    further opined that Iceland should have gotten a better deal from
    the U.S. on environmental issues rather than "letting them leave
    without cleaning up."

    --Chairman of the (idiosyncratic, largely fishing-oriented) Liberal
    Party Gudjon Kristjansson said the GOI had done as well as it could,
    all things considered, but said he wished more had been done to
    explore closer cooperation with other NATO allies, particularly the
    Nordic states.

    ¶6.  (SBU) Comment: The GOI should be - and, our contacts affirm, is
    - pleased with the tenor thus far of media coverage of the defense
    rollout.  Gisladottir's failure to mount a persuasive counterattack
    reflects the discord within the Alliance, which - formed in 2000
    from three disparate parties - has never established a formal policy
    on defense.  Post will continue to work with the media to correct
    errors and fill in knowledge gaps, e.g. by offering data on the
    history of environmental mitigation at NASKEF, and - to counter
    anxiety over the absence of U.S. forces on the island - unclassified
    briefings on the expeditionary doctrine and rapid response
    capabilities of today's U.S. military.

    VAN VOORST

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