From Iceland — Private Military Company Given Green Light

Private Military Company Given Green Light

Published March 19, 2010

ECA Program – a private company specializing in military consultancy with governments around the world – has apparently already been given the green light by the government to use the old base in Keflavík.
ECA Program has already begun a PR campaign of sorts, having told the news aggregate website Eyjan that their permit to operate in Canada was denied for strictly political reasons. According to the source, the residents of Goose Bay, Newfoundland were actually positive towards the company, but the authorities in the region rejected the permit.
Social Democrat Björgvin G. Sigurðsson has told reporters that the company has already received the go-ahead from the Icelandic government to use the old NATO base in Keflavík. Óskar Þórmundsson, former police chief of Keflavík airport and NATO employee, has been slated to assist ECA in Iceland. He told reporters that his past connections and current assignment are a complete coincidence.
In a more bizarre twist, the Leftist-Greens of the Suðurnes region, where Keflavík is located, have expressed their support for ECA’s arrival. While the Lefist-Greens have a strong anti-militarist platform, having fought for years to get Iceland out of NATO, the party’s branch in the region say their support is due first and foremost to job creation, as no other possibilities seem available in the near future.
ECA is willing to pay 200 billion ISK for the use of the base, but much is unknown about the source of the company’s finances, and their activities remain obscure – few sources apart from the ECA’s own website even mention the work the company has done.
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)

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