Iceland Searches for a Mooring No Longer a Vital Atlantic Post for NATO, It Turns Hesitantly to Europe for Security

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THIS island in the North Atlantic, with its myriad active volcanoes and massive glaciers, is bracing for what promises to be heated debate on its post-cold-war future.

During the years of East-West confrontation, strategically located Iceland was firmly anchored among nations in the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Its security needs taken care of, the island enjoyed stable economic growth.

But now that Russian nuclear submarines are no longer considered a great threat, Iceland's value as a listening outpost of the Atlantic alliance has dwindled. And as a result, the island now finds itself caught between North America and Europe, rocked by …