ABSTRACT
The departure of the US military from Iceland in 2006 and the US refusal to provide Iceland with financial assistance in 2008 marked an end to the American era in the history of Iceland’s foreign relations. The US had provided Iceland with crucial political (military and diplomatic) and economic (in various forms) shelter during the Cold War, as well as some societal shelter. The bilateral defence treaty between the countries is still in place and the US is presently increasing its military activity in Iceland, however the US no longer provides Iceland with comprehensive shelter. Moreover, American shelter did not come without its costs.
