Franco Spain in NATO?
MOWRER, RICHARD
Despite U.S. pressure to admit Madrid, European democracies will veto it franco spain in nato? By Richard Mowrer Madrid Recent statements by high Norwegian officials to the effect that Norway...
...Spain has no request to make...
...Optimism on this score had been encouraged by a series of American Congressional resolutions favoring Spain's candidacy, along with assurances of support from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Portugal and West Germany...
...Some say he most certainly would not...
...Emotionally, Norway's negative attitude is a sore blow to Spanish pride...
...Conscripts are called up for 18 months of military service, but, again because of a lack of funds, many are released before their time is up...
...But behind the scenes shock and anger are very real...
...According to foreign military experts, it will take three or four years, despite continuing U.S...
...Since 1954, $200 million worth of arms and equipment has been delivered to the Spanish armed forces by the United States...
...Since the Allies' victory over Mussolini and Hitler and the diplomatic and economic ostracism of Spain which followed, a cardinal objective of General Franco's foreign policy has been to win Spain a respected place among the nations of the free world without discarding his regime's basic ideology...
...An invitation to join NATO would have topped off the list very nicely...
...But the view here is that the charter would present no more difficulty with regard to Spain than it did in the cases of Portugal and Turkey, whose systems are, at the moment, not particularly democratic...
...Here in Norway, we are of the opinion that it will only weaken NATO if Spain is admitted as a member...
...At long last, the American legislators, many of them long deceived by false propaganda, have begun to realize the political and military importance of our country...
...Because of necessity and not as a favor to us, they have expressed the wish that Spain should join the Western organization with full rights...
...This being so, would the Caudillo agree to send his best troops out of the country to take up stations in Germany...
...The alliance would be further weakened, some observers think, if Spain came in with its long-standing dispute over Gibraltar...
...assistance, before Spain can turn out two, maybe three Army divisions capable of strengthening the NATO line-up...
...For one thing, there seems to be no real conviction in high quarters here that Spanish membership in NATO is essential to Western defense, or to Spain...
...The Franco state does not believe that democracy, in the Western sense of the word, is suited to the Spanish temperament...
...The first step was negotiation of a military alliance with the United States...
...This statement was followed by one from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman regarding a probable veto by Norway if the question of Spanish membership comes up...
...This says that the parties to the treaty are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, "founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law...
...Then there are these considerations: • Spain as yet possesses no forces capable of meeting NATO standards...
...Indeed, General Franco intimated recently that Spain feels no particular need to join, since she is already allied to the United States and Portugal...
...Because their Army pay is inadequate, many regular officers are forced to take civilian jobs in their spare time...
...This is a viewpoint which, as far as I am informed, is shared by the Storting [Parliament] and the majority of the Norwegian people...
...For the democratic countries in Western Europe," Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen declared, "the question [of NATO membership for Spain] has not only a military side but also a political one...
...If she is needed, she will offer loyal and efficacious cooperation...
...A redoubtable stumbling block in the way of Spanish admittance to the Atlantic alliance might be the preamble of the NATO charter...
...But on the practical side it doesn't change much...
...Then came membership in UNESCO and admittance to the United Nations...
...But for economic reasons most of the Army's men are, in effect, part-time soldiers...
...News of Norway's rebuff, and of Spain's immediate verbal protest to Norway's Ambassador in Madrid, Johan Raeder, has so far been concealed from the Spanish public...
...Then came the jolt from Norway...
...By Richard Mowrer Madrid Recent statements by high Norwegian officials to the effect that Norway will probably oppose Spanish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have come as a bitter shock to General Francisco Franco's regime...
...For, although it was realized here that Belgium and the Scandinavian NATO members are cool to the idea of partnership with authoritarian Spain, the belief had nevertheless taken hold that before long Spain would be voted in...
...Spain has a standing army of 18 divisions...
...But it dislikes being referred to as a dictatorship...
...others are convinced that he would, partly for reasons of prestige, partly because the loss of Spanish Morocco last year gave him troops to spare...
...There is not the slightest reason why Spain should remain outside the North Atlantic bloc and its military organism," wrote the Madrid daily, ABC...
...Views on this are divided...
...the Norwegian attitude throws a wrench into Franco Spain's patient and rather skilful striving for attainment of international respectability through ever closer association with the Western democracies...
...NATO has been weakened by disputes between members, notably the Cyprus issue, which strained relations among Britain, Greece and Turkey...
...On occasion, it describes its form of government as "organic democracy...
...General Franco reminded assembled officers of this last year when he told them that the Army's task is to protect the nation against foreign dangers and to "maintain order at home...
...In Spain, the Army has a political role...
...Of the various fronts," he went on to say, "the most dangerous today is the internal...
...The state-supervised press even came out with editorials bearing titles like "NATO Needs Spain...
...It takes only one dissenting vote to block admittance of a new state to NATO...
Vol. 40 • May 1957 • No. 21
