Iceland and USA Sitting in a Tree

"Iceland and USA, sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G." So went the sing-song nursery rhyme about two kids being teased about being in love. The next verse traditionally went, "First comes love, then comes marriage, here comes Iceland with a baby carriage," but the appropriate modern ending would be, "here comes Iceland with blood and carnage."

Without any public debate, we are no longer a nation of peace. Our tax dollars—which are part of our life's essence, our labor traded for salaries—are now going to purchase American weapons. Our physical soil is used to transport these weapons of death to bomb people on the other side of the world. Sometimes, kidnapped prisoners from those areas are even brought back via Keflavík to black sites like Guantanamo, where they are tortured and kept without trial. This should be a source of national shame and outrage.

Some of us are outraged. Yesterday, a group of protestors met outside the Foreign Ministry to protest Þórgerður Katrín's silence regarding the USA's illegal bombing of Iran for the second time in the past year. She insists that we are independent and make our own decisions, but this is an obvious lie. The curtains were opened at the new offices when we arrived but were quickly closed. The employees obviously do not want to hear from normal people; they are too busy obeying dictates from Washington, for whom they really work.

Recently, I read about the US Information Agency, a vast propaganda network the US funded with over 10,000 employees and many billions in funds. I noticed there was an entry for Iceland from 1960. I requested the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies in the Netherlands digitize it and send it to me, which they did. The file complained that Iceland was too independent, did not want to be used as a military base for America, and did not want to participate in America's wars. It stated that more money needed to be spent and more Icelandic propaganda produced to change the opinions of the nation, ensuring they would willingly participate without complaint or debate. It was a chilling file because they have obviously gotten their way.

We are told that Iran is a theocracy, but US generals are telling their troops that the war on Iran is "all part of God's divine plan," citing the Book of Revelation and Armageddon to justify their aggression. The USA has a separate school system for religious families. I was sent to one of these where I was not taught sex education, but I did get daily classes on the Bible, how it was infallible, and the word of God. At this school, they used physical discipline, hitting us with wooden paddles on our bare bottoms. Twenty percent of Americans are illiterate, and over half read below a 6th-grade level. The religious demographic of America is who voted for the current president. If there is a dangerous theocracy that should not have weapons, it is the USA, not Iran.

The Prime Minister of Spain has shown that it is possible to say no to America's demonic plans to murder. He has said that Spain's bases and airports may not be used by the USA to wage war on Iran:

"We are not going to be accomplices to something that is bad for the world and that is also contrary to our values and interests, simply because of the fear of reprisals from some. We have absolute confidence in the economic, institutional and I would also say moral strength of our country." — Pedro Sánchez

He is now being threatened by the US President with tariffs and more. This is very obviously why Icelandic politicians are ducking their heads and obeying the master, while lying to us that it was an independent decision. One of the first attacks by the USA was the largest mass killing of young girls while they were at school: over 160 girls between the ages of 7 and 12. The peaceful feminist paradise of Iceland is taking part in the mass murder of schoolgirls in the name of human rights. The jokes write themselves these days.

There is a story within Islam that I learned recently, where the grandson of Mohammad refused to bow to a newly installed violent monarchy in 680 CE. He had support, but before he could rally more troops, he and his small group were killed at the Battle of Karbala. The man's name was Husayn, and he became their eternal symbol of resistance to tyranny, even when defeat is certain. His martyrdom represents the belief that justice may lose militarily but triumphs spiritually and morally.

Saying no to America would come at a price, but so too does obeying them. We are staining our legacy, teaching our children that cowardice is better than principles, because standing firm for what is right might cost us something. What cost are we paying by participating in the USA's wars? I know that Þorgerður Katrín is ready to pay it, but are we as a nation?

Author is the chairman of the executive board of the Socialist Party