Iceland begged US to lend $1bn
Documents released by WikiLeaks reveal that Iceland asked for a $1 billion loan from the United States in 2008 to shore up its collapsing economy.
The US embassy in Reykjavik urged Washington to back the loan, worried Iceland might otherwise turn to Russia.
Leaked diplomatic cables include an October 2008 letter from Iceland's central bank governor to the then president of the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It asked for a loan "preferably in an amount of $1bn." The Fed did not give Iceland a loan.