The Intractable Ally

During the 1950's, U.S. government's policy toward Iceland is inseparable with its cold war system in Europe. The whole process of this policy's formation, evolution and even the finalization is just completed within the two terms of Eisenhower Administration. My thesis is focused on two most critical issues which concerned with United States'policy toward Iceland during this period:the U.S. military base's crisis and the conflict of the fishing limits between Iceland and Britain. And its intention is try to reveal the internal mechanism of the continuation and the changes of Eisenhower administration's policy toward Iceland. By using the policy papers which from National Security Council as the main line, combined with the interpretation of the related decrypted files, this thesis is intent to analyze of the substance of the setbacks which from Eisenhower Government's policy had been suffered repeatedly as well as to describe the reality that the U.S. government had to deal with challenges from non-Communist factor while the threat of communism was rendered, and thus further summarizes the logic, characteristics and influence of the U.S. government's policy toward Iceland.This thesis is composed of introduction,3 chapters and the conclusion.The main content of the introduction included the significance of this article, research status and its basic structural framework. As described the academic value of this thesis' research object, it also reviewed the research results about the U.S. policy toward Iceland and the Nordic region in the academic circles both at home and abroad., besides, the views from the leading scholars and the main structure of this thesis were also introduced.The first chapter describes the relationship between U.S. and Iceland since World War II until the early postwar period. By analyzing the understanding and relevant policies of Roosevelt Administration and Truman Administration's viewpoints toward Iceland's strategic position, it indicated that the U.S. government's intervention in Iceland was largely out of the North Atlantic security system and thus proposed to shape Iceland as a main military base in the high latitudes to contain the Soviet Bloc. Therefore, how to maintain Iceland's centripetal force towards NATO, especially keep the long-standing U.S. military bases there had became the bottom line of the U.S. government's interests in Iceland. And this strategic thinking not only set the basic tone for the Eisenhower Administration's policy toward Iceland, but also planted the hidden conflicts and contradictions.The second chapter discusses of the questions about the plight of U.S. military bases during the first Eisenhower administration. In front of the surging nationalism in Iceland, the wavering fate of U.S. military bases had made Eisenhower administration made several objective judgments and designed a number of practical and feasible measures in the first decision document toward Iceland of NSC5426. But in 1956, when the Communists appeared in the cabinet of Iceland and its parliament had adopted a resolution to demand U.S. withdrawal military personal immediately, the United States Government believed that the threat of communism increased again. Although this incident quickly subsided, it had affected the U.S. government's judgment about the situation together with the fishing crisis at the same time.Chapter Three is concerned about the Iceland's fishing crisis and its impact on the U.S. government's policy toward Iceland during the late 1950's, especially in the second term of Eisenhower Administration. Facing the escalating economic disputes between two NATO allies and the penetration from Soviet Union, Eisenhower Administration used NSC5712/1 document as an guidance for the policy analysis, took measures both in the internal and foreign affairs to resist the Soviet's growing influence in Iceland, tried to avoid the fishing crisis between United Kingdom and Iceland could be used by Communism to make the first breach in the Western camp as well as to maintain the unity within NATO. It also laid the foundation for the U.S. government to form a stable and sustained policy toward Iceland ultimately.Conclusion section summarizes the main features, logic and the impact of the U.S. government's cold war policy toward Iceland.