Well, if Canada or Russia don’t manage to take over Iceland first, maybe the British will:
Gordon Brown has told the Icelandic prime minister that he is considering legal action against the country over the collapse of its national banks.
The prime minister said tonight that Iceland’s decision not to recompense those with savings in the bank was “completely unacceptable” and the British government would do “whatever is necessary to recover the money”.
“I’ve spoken to the Icelandic prime minister, I have told him this is effectively an illegal action that they have taken. We are freezing the assets of Icelandic companies in the UK where we can. We will take further action against the Icelandic authorities where necessary to recover the money.
This talk of “legal action” is nice, but if Brown’s really willing to do “whatever is necessary,” then the UK is one of the few countries capable of projecting substantial military power in Iceland. And, of course, Iceland has no military with which to defend itself. The country’s even been subjected to British military occupation in the past. Before WWII, Iceland was part of Denmark. Then when the Germans conquered Denmark, the British dispatched troops to Iceland to secure the country under a new independent government so as to ensure the viability of the sea and air routes between the UK and North America. Later (but before formal US entry into the war), the United States took over occupation duties. And we continued to maintain a pretty substantial military presence (relative to the size of Iceland) at Keflavik Naval Air Station until a year or two ago. But now Iceland’s defenseless!
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