Monday, May 30, 2011
On May 30, 1982, despite intense public opposition, Spain becomes the 16th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)–a decision later confirmed by 52 percent of voters in a national referendum in March 1986. NATO, founded in 1949, was established as a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II. At the core of NATO membership is Article 5 of the Treaty, in which member states agree that an attack against any one shall be considered an attack against all. Spain—a geographically strategic partner—has reservations and initially refrains from participating in the integrated military structure. Ten years after the referendum, Spanish Parliament approves Spain’s military participation. Opposition to Spain’s NATO membership in 1982 is due primarily to communist and socialist influences within the county at the time.
Recently, Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi approached Spain—one of several NATO allies involved in operations to remove Moammar Gadhafi from power—proposing an immediate ceasefire. British newspaper the Independent reported that several other international leaders also received the proposal. A spokesman from the Spanish prime minister’s office said the NATO operation would continue until certain conditions are met, mainly that Gadhafi’s forces stop attacking rebels. Recent comments from President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron also indicate that key NATO countries will stay the course until Gadhafi–subject of an International Criminal Court indictment for war crimes over his crackdown on opposition forces—is removed from power.
