Spanish Sentiment and Protests

There are many facets to the Spanish sentiment on the US use of the Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base. There is no national consensus on the issue as opinions differ per region. Because there are so many facets, each event effecting Spanish sentiment on US military relations with Spain will be addressed in turn.

1953 Pact of Madrid

After the signing of the Pact of Madrid, there was bipartisan resentment in Spain towards the United States’ military involvement in the country.

Widely publicized photo of President Eisenhower and Franco.

Francoist leaders felt that they were given insufficient military supplies in return for basing rights. Also, the Spanish military was restricted from using American equipment in defending Spain’s North African territories in 1957. Franco and his supporters resented the US for “slighting” them in their military arrangements as well as for its democratic form of government.

On the other hand, the parties in opposition to Franco and his regime perceived the United States and their military involvement as support of Franco’s fascist regime and, in turn, as an obstacle to the democratization of Spain. The resentment caused lasting effects in Spain, even after the democratization of the country in 1975.

Occasionally, there were popular protests against events or individuals who were reminders of US support for Franco’s dictatorship, like the large demonstration held during President Reagan’s visit to Spain in 1985. Many still hold on to this view of the US as a tie to Franco and his fascist regime, and therefore view negatively US military use of Morón and Rota, as well as the American presence in the country these bases produce.

B-52 Palomares Incident (1966)

The B-52 crash, resulting in four nuclear bombs falling in or near Palomares, Spain, has influenced Spanish opinion on US military involvement in Spain. The incident took place in 1966, but there is still a leftover area that was contaminated by the two bombs that exploded. Local Spanish investigator, Carlos Sancho, estimates that between 15 and 25 pounds of the plutonium dust is laying latent in the soil. Sancho, also the director of the Palomares section of the Spanish Department of Energy, insists that there are no health risks to this amount of plutonium. However, the earth in the contaminated area, totaling some 100 acres, cannot be moved because the disturbance would disperse the plutonium.

The contaminated area of Palomares, though it poses no health risks to the local area, cannot be farmed or built on, and has a stigma around it that negatively impacts the tourism and agriculture sectors of the local economy. Every time the story makes headlines again, there’s a drop in both the number of visitors to the area and the price of produce that farmers of the town get at market. The opinion of US military involvement in Palomares, Spain is more negative than the opinions in other areas of Spain, because this isolated incident, though important, only harms the small town of Palomares.

Opposition to the Afghanistan War (2001)

The Afghanistan War brought about many protests and demonstrations against US military use of Spain’s bases, because the majority of the Spanish public, roughly 52%, was in opposition to the US’s motives in the war. There were demonstrations of notable size at both Morón (Andalucia) and Rota (Cádiz) military bases. The US maintained troops, artillery, equipment, and vehicles for naval, aerial, and land transportation. The bases were of prime military importance to the US during this time because of its strategic location: Spain is positioned as an entry port into the Mediterranean, an easy way to reach the Middle East.

Spanish public opinion against US use of these bases stems from a few things. Amongst the demonstrators, public opinion of foreign military involvement was related to the recent (2000) British occupation of the Straight of Gibraltar, a disputed territory of Spain and the United Kingdom. The leader of the Leftist United Coalition, Gaspar Llamazares, said that “[Spanish] society is getting more and more nuclearized and militarized,” concepts that “globalization may need, but [Spanish] citizens do not” (Diario del Pueblo).

* Poster from the Anti-Militarist group. "No to NATO"

Many anti-war demonstrations took place in Spain during the Iraq War. These were largely due to the general public's opinion of the war overall, not specifically US use of Spain's bases. However, if the public opposed the war, they

Iraq War (2003)

LIBYAN / ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

Use by the United States of the bases in Spain for non-NATO purposes was a matter requiring Spanish approval, which was not likely unless the mission had Spain's endorsement within NATO. In keeping with its policy of avoiding involvement in the Arab-Israeli dispute, Spain withheld diplomatic clearance for the United States to use the bases to resupply Israel during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Spanish military officers were reportedly approached regarding the possible use of the Spanish bases and flight paths over Spain in connection with the United States raid on Libya in April 1986. His negative response necessitated a long detour over international waters by the aircraft flying from British bases. One of the American fighter-bombers was forced to make an emergency landing at Rota, however. Officials defended the landing as consistent with the provisions of the base agreement, in spite of the criticism that it evoked in Spain. Many Spanish citizens felt their collective security was threatened by possible linkage of their military to the US’s military involvements in Libya.