The National Movement of Iceland, a group protesting Iceland’s membership in the Coalition of the Willing, published a full-page advertisement in Friday’s New York Times. The ad explained Iceland’s long history of pacifism, and pointed out that the decision to join the Coalition was not debated in parliament and was therefore illegal, according to the Icelandic Constitution.
The local reaction to the ad was mixed. Fréttabladid question why the ad didn’t mention a recent Gallup poll, which stated that 85% of Icelanders were apposed to membership in the Coalition.
The newspaper also pointed out that the New York Times had reported that an inside, anonymous Washington source claimed Iceland has not been a Coalition member since August 2003.
A popular weekly comedy show which has focused on the Iraq debate recently did not take on the ad. Instead, they focused on the wealth of material provided by Iceland’s other major news story as late: the unusually high rate of use of sexual aids, as reported by condom manufacturer Durex.
