Abroad

Madrid NATO Maybe

One result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has been to strengthen the likelihood of Spanish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This prospect, it is believed here, was raised seriously during Premier Adolfo Suarez’s recent visit to Washington, even though Spanish government sources maintain there is no “urgency” involved. Spain and the United States developed an important level of military cooperation years ago with the establishment of American air bases in Spain. However, the United States might want to use them far more actively should hostilities break out in the Middle East. The use would be governed by the Hispano-American agreement of 1970, which says that “in case of a threat of outside attack against the security of the West,” the two countries would immediately consult on measures to be taken. Formal adherence to NATO itself would greatly improve the Alliance’s strategic and tactical position and would also bring all of Iberia—Portugal is already a NATO member—into its active planning dimension. But Spain would also like to keep its bridges to the Third World —and particularly to the Arab countries of the Mediterranean—clear and open. Some quarters here fear that full membership in NATO would undermine them.

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Madrid NATO Maybe

One result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has been to strengthen the likelihood of Spanish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This prospect, it is believed here, was raised seriously during Premier Adolfo Suarez’s recent visit to Washington, even though Spanish government sources maintain there is no “urgency” involved. Spain and the United States developed an important level of military cooperation years ago with the establishment of American air bases in Spain. However, the United States might want to use them far more actively should hostilities break out in the Middle East. The use would be governed by the Hispano-American agreement of 1970, which says that “in case of a threat of outside attack against the security of the West,” the two countries would immediately consult on measures to be taken. Formal adherence to NATO itself would greatly improve the Alliance’s strategic and tactical position and would also bring all of Iberia—Portugal is already a NATO member—into its active planning dimension. But Spain would also like to keep its bridges to the Third World —and particularly to the Arab countries of the Mediterranean—clear and open. Some quarters here fear that full membership in NATO would undermine them.