The Bush Administration has informed the Government of Iceland that it plans to draw down this fall four US Air Force F-15 Eagles and USAF rescue helicopter squadron from NAS Keflavik, Iceland, a base that the US has used since 1951 under a bilateral security agreement. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter called the Keflavik mission a relic of the Cold War, saying that the move is part of the Pentagon’s overall restructuring to meet current and emerging threats. State Department officials say the US is working with Iceland to devise “an appropriate arrangement.” Iceland’s Ambassador to the US, Helgi Agustsson, told the Washington Post that Iceland was “deeply disappointed” over the decision.
U.S. military and law enforcement officials captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a high-stakes military operation on Jan. 3, a mission carried out by the Army's Delta Force and supported by extensive American airpower.
