US Officials Walk Out on MP's Speech

American representatives at the annual meeting for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) walked out after a speech being given by Icelandic MP Dagný Jónsdóttir. In the course of her speech, she brought up the departure of the NATO base in Keflavík and allegedly took a hard line in criticising US officials for not giving the Icelandic government enough warning of the base's departure. Officials from the US embassy have publicly stated previously that the US State Department had informed the Icelandic government as far back as 2003 that the base would close. The official announcement, that it would be greatly downsized this fall, was made last spring.