Donald Trump has criticized NATO member countries for their level of defense spending. NATO clearly has relied on the U.S. for defense, both spending and bodies. The U.S. has forces and armaments in Europe. But if Donald Trump is not willing to think more deeply about NATO, that doesn’t mean that voters can’t.
The acronym NATO is the “North Atlantic” Treaty Organization. While the focus is currently on the Ukraine, the role of Iceland deserves a close look.
Iceland doesn’t have a military. The NATO database, source of the NATO defense spending percentages, shows Iceland not spending on defense. As can be seen in the following table, it has a small population. A map will show that it’s an island in the middle of the Atlantic. LINK:
Iceland does have a Coast Guard. It has invested in ships, which can provide some immediate defense of their territory. A search can provide the details.
The issue for the United States and members of NATO is global. It’s the power struggle among the world’s biggest powers — the U.S., China, and Russia. That battle takes place on many fronts. The most public is economic, particularly trade. And trade between North American countries and European countries happens on the Atlantic Ocean. Many vital internet communication cables in the Baltic Sea have been severed. There are similar cables running across the Atlantic. This new world isn’t as simple as a single island’s spending on defense.
Should there be any military conflict, the ability to access a large island right in the middle of that ocean would be a major asset. Would the United States prefer that asset in the NATO alliance’s hands or in Russia’s? It would be interesting to hear what the U.S. military really feel about that issue, with their detailed study of world history.
Here is what Iceland says about its defense. LINK: https://www.government.is/topics/foreign-affairs/national-security/
Donald Trump’s pressure on NATO member countries to increase investment in their own defense against Russia is seeing results. Here is a recent statement (January 2025) by Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs addressing the issue to Icelanders. LINK: https://www.icelandreview.com/news/iceland-must-contribute-more-to-national-defense-minister-warns/
NATO itself has published details showing the percentage of spending on defense and, within that spending, on equipment, plus much more information. (Linked below) As NATO’s chart shows, member countries have increased their investments in their own defense since 2014. Trump’s actions on the Ukraine have put even greater pressure on NATO’s European members to invest in defense. Many postures that were appropriate after WWII, but are not now relevant are being abandoned. LINK: https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2024/6/pdf/240617-def-exp-2024-en.pdf
Here is an excellent history of Iceland’s very controversial (within Iceland) participation in NATO. Read the part about Russian submarines and waterways through Atlantic corridors. From Russian submarine sites to the coast of the U.S. And about the Keflavik Air Base, which the U.S. and NATO have had access to over the years after WWII. LINK: https://www.nato.int/cps/fr/natohq/declassified_162083.htm
The U.S.’s War College site, which had an article on the subject of Iceland and the U.S. related to our mutual defense, is “temporarily down for maintenance” (March 11, 2025).
The economic statistics in my chart come from the World Bank database.