ICELAND: 2005 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS REYKJAVIK 000520

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
STATE FOR S/CT:RHONDA SHORE AND ED SALAZAR
OSLO FOR DATT
COPENHAGEN FOR LEGAT

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARAGRAPH 2 TEXT)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC IC
SUBJECT: ICELAND: 2005 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM

REF: STATE 193439 (NOTAL)

1. The following text updates for 2005 the Iceland
country section of the 2004 Patterns of Global
Terrorism report:
Iceland has no military forces. Nevertheless, its
leaders have offered strong rhetoric in support of U.S.
antiterrorism policies, and the Icelandic Crisis
Response Unit (ICRU),a Ministry for Foreign Affairs-
run organization of peacekeepers, has contributed to
counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
There are no indications of the existence of terrorist
groups operating inside Iceland or of trafficking of
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) through the country's
territory. The country's top Coast Guard official has
worried publicly, however, that the surrounding North
Atlantic Ocean receives insufficient surveillance by
law enforcement.
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Operations
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During the year, two eight-person ICRU Mobile
Observation Teams deployed to Afghanistan and were
attached to PRTs in Meymana (deployed in September) and
Chagcharan (deployed in mid-October),with rotations of
personnel planned at three-month intervals. In
November, however, Foreign Minister Geir H. Haarde
announced that due to safety concerns Icelandic
civilian peacekeepers would cease to participate in the
PRT in northern Afghanistan, although they would
continue to work in the western region while the
security situation remained stable there. There are
four ICRU members in Sri Lanka with the Norwegian-led
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). Currently one
Icelandic policeman is in Kosovo with the international
police force there. These peacekeeping deployments
remain well short of the Icelandic Government's long-
stated goal of 50 ICRU peacekeepers in the field "at
any given time" in 2006. Wages and costs have
apparently far exceeded government projections, and
remaining funding has not allowed additional
deployments.
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Dialogue
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Several exchange visits in support of security and
antiterrorism occurred between U.S. and Icelandic
Government officials in 2005:
-- In January the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)'s Rotterdam-
based U.S. International Port Security Liaison Officer,
with responsibility for Iceland, visited Reykjavik to
tour port facilities and share strategies with maritime
officials. She noted: "All entities are keenly aware
of each other's roles and their successful
collaborative work is evident.Icelandic authorities are
working to centralize their emergency response efforts,
further improving communication as well as national
security, e.g. three major ports in Reykjavik have come
together to form an Association of Icelandic Ports and
also the Icelandic Coast Guard/Maritime Traffic Center
is being relocated with the Icelandic Police/Emergency
Response Center where incidents can be managed with a
more integrated approach."
-- In March the USCG provided Icelandic Coast Guard
(ICG) Director General Georg Larusson with a weeklong
orientation to USCG personnel, materiel, and facilities
on the eastern seaboard.
-- In May Embassy personnel arranged and partially
funded extensive U.S. travel and briefings for Jon
Bjartmarz, Chief Superintendent, National Commissioner
of Police Security Section, to familiarize him with
U.S. law enforcement best practices.
-- Also in May, Embassy personnel organized, escorted,
and partially funded travel of senior foreign affairs
journalists from Icelandic print and broadcast media to
Brussels, Vienna, and Sarajevo to study Alliance
transformation, post-conflict reconstruction, counter-
trafficking, and the broad work of the OSCE in Eurasia.
-- Iceland hosted USCG Commandant Admiral Thomas
Collins on a goodwill and familiarization visit July 1-

2. In meetings with Larusson and Minister of Justice
and Ecclesiastical Affairs Bjorn Bjarnason, Admiral
Collins proposed training and acquisitions for the ICG
as well as ways to enhance interoperability.

Following these exchanges Minister Bjarnason announced
in September that the Government would purchase a new
patrol vessel and a new airplane to replace aging
existing assets. Two additional patrol vessels will be
refitted. Larusson has maintained political pressure
on his government to increase its spending on maritime
security. Referring to the 1.8 million square
kilometers of Icelandic territorial waters, he warned a
civic group in November, "This is probably the only
ocean area in the world that is so little monitored."
He added that those sailing in the region were probably
aware of its vulnerability and could plan "unsuitable
acts." He pledged to revise ICG regulations to make
weapons available on board patrol vessels and for the
first time to give police training to crews, who
already enjoy police authority.
-- In November, a team from S/CT briefed senior
officials from the Icelandic MFA, Justice Ministry,
Police and Coast Guard on State's Foreign Emergency
Support Team and other interagency crisis response
capabilities. Later that month, the Icelandic Police
special forces unit carried out a hostage rescue
exercise inside the U.S. Embassy. The Icelanders
undertook to continue to work through the Embassy to
strengthen counterterrorism contingency planning.
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Moral Support
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Icelandic Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson condemned
the July 7 terrorist attacks on the London transit
system by saying they were great acts of cruelty
against innocent citizens. He also stated, "These were
attacks not only on the British nation but also on our
shared democratic and national values." Minister of
Justice Bjarnason, responding to questions about
Icelandic anti-terror preparedness in the wake of the
London bombings, outine a multi-pronged Icelandic
approach, including:
-- updating police organization to reduce the number of
districts nationwide and achieve economies of scale;
-- strengthening the Special Unit (an elite SWAT-type
police organization) by increasing manpower;
-- increasing monitoring of foreigners;
-- maintaining Keflavik International Airport's
preeminence in use of the most advanced security
technology; and
-- devising plans on how to respond to chemical,
biological, or radiolical attack.
Iceland is a party to all 12 international conventions
and protocols relating to terrorism; and has signed the
Nuclear Terrorism Convention. In May Iceland signed
both the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention
of Terrorism CETS No. 196 and the Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and
Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the
Financing of Terrorism CETS No. 198; both are slated
for ratification by the Althing (parliament) in 2006.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September, both
Asgrimsson and then-Foreign Minister David Oddsson
supported adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism. "Such a convention must
unconditionally condemn terrorism. For it to be fully
effective, it must include a legal definition of
terrorist acts," Oddsson declared. Asgrimsson
reiterated, "(A) universal definition is still
needed. Terrorism is a threat to us all and must be
condemned in all its forms."
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Exercises
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The Icelandic Coast Guard hosted its fourth annual
explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training exercise,
Northern Challenge, from August 29 to September 2.
This year's exercise was attended by teams from
Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden (the
first Partnership for Peace team to attend) for a total
of 47 EOD technicians. The exercise objectives were:
(1) to provide a realistic training exercise, where
NATO/PfP EOD teams could hone their skills and
procedures in dealing with a number of EOD/IEDD tasks,
and (2) provide a platform for discussion and exchange
of ideas regarding EOD and Innovative Explosive
Ordnance Disposal (IEDD) operations. Formally the
exercise fulfilled the requirements of the 2000
Implementing Agreement Pursuant to the Memorandum of
Understanding between Iceland and the U.S. regarding
ICD EOD and IDF cooperation, specifically in the areas
of EOD training and exercise.
In support of maritime security, the ICG has given
increased attention to scenarios involving large
passenger and cargo vessels. In August, the ICG EOD
unit conducted a bomb disposal exercise at Sundahofn
port in Reykjavik on an American cruise liner, the
Seven Seas Navigator. The exercise was a cooperative
effort between members of the ICG, the Maritime Control
Authority and the ship's security officer. On
September 28, the fuel tanker USNS Gianella arrived at
the Helguvik NATO fuel pier carrying 9.8 million
gallons. For maritime security, the Iceland Defense
Force (IDF) requested ICG assistance in pier sweeps and
harbor patrol. The ICG EOD unit conducted pier sweeps
from September 25 to 27. The ICG cutter Baldur
patrolled the harbor during the fuel transfer from
September 28 to 29.
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Contact
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2. Embassy point of contact for this report is
Political Officer Lisa Kierans, tel. 011-354-562-
9100x2294, fax 011-354-562-9139, e-mail
kieransl@state.gov.

KOSNETT