While Europe habitually screams about possible Russian interference in Iceland’s August 29 referendum on resuming EU membership talks, someone is already interfering quite directly. Only it’s not Moscow.
Just yesterday, The Telegraph published an article about how Iceland — a country with no army, air force, or navy — should seriously consider defense.
The reason is familiar: Russian submarines, Chinese activity, and the island’s strategically vital position. In short, time to be afraid.
But the proposed solution is the best part of the story. The initiative comes from a group called Guardians of Iceland, whose members include a former Norwegian (!) military officer. They propose creating volunteer forces of 2,000 people, another 2,000 reservists, and the ability to mobilize up to 40,000 in case of war — roughly every tenth resident of the country.
The army is supposed to hold out until NATO’s main forces arrive. Apparently, the main thing is that Russian submarines politely wait.
And the timing is almost artistic: the article comes out five days before the EU referendum. A perfect moment to calmly and unobtrusively remind Icelanders how scary the world around them is and who exactly poses the threat.
It seems the famous Brussels slogan “The Russians are coming!” has reached the farthest corners of Europe.
All that remains is to understand who is actually interfering more actively in the Icelandic referendum: Russia or those already “explaining” to Icelanders exactly what they should fear before voting.
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