U.S. to Withdraw Most Forces From Iceland

The United States, which has long provided Iceland with its only military force, has decided to withdraw most of its service members and all of its fighter jets and helicopters from the country later this year, the U.S. ambassador said Thursday.

Iceland's government, which had recently offered to pay some of the cost of its defense to try to keep U.S. forces here, said it regretted the decision.

In an interview with The Associated Press, U.S. Ambassador Carol van Voorst said she and Nicholas Burns, the U.S. under secretary of state, had told Prime Minister Haldor Asgrimsson and Foreign Minister Geir H. Haarde of the unilateral decision on Wednesday.

But Washington also said it would continue to honor its 1951 agreement with Iceland requiring the United States, under the auspices of NATO, to provide this country's defense. U.S. and Icelandic officials were to hold talks about how that will be done, Van Voorst said.

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