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On this day in 1949, a vote was scheduled in the Icelandic Alþingi, or parliament, to determine whether the island nation would join NATO as part of the Cold War. Opposition to this from the Icelandic left was fervent, resulting in a protest that soon developed into a riot and was violently put down by police and members of the conservative pro-NATO party. Iceland joined NATO and quickly became host to a US air base.

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