Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 2

711.56352/3–1853

No. 885
The Chargé in Spain (Jones) to the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs (Martin Artajo)¹

secret
No. 627

Madrid, March 16, 1953.

Excellency: I have the honor to refer to the letter from General Vigon to General Kissner of January 14, 1953,² which expresses the position of the Spanish Government concerning the Spanish counterdraft of the covering Defense Agreement, and in which General Vigon suggests that this draft should be transmitted to my Government for consideration.

Shortly after the receipt of that letter, Ambassador MacVeagh transmitted it with the Spanish counterdraft,³ as presented to General Kissner by General Vigon on December 23, to the authorities in Washington with the recommendation that a position be established in this regard as close to the Spanish position, expressed in the counterdraft, as possible. I have now received instructions from my Government which were delayed because of the necessity for the Departments of the Government concerned to study these matters at a time when the new Administration was just assuming office in the United States. In accordance with my instructions I am transmitting herewith a redraft of the covering Defense Agreement (which the United States Government suggests henceforth be called “Military Facilities Agreement”) as prepared by my Government.

In place of the phraseology suggested in the Spanish counter-draft that the United States furnish adequate assistance to Spain to satisfy the minimum necessities for the defense of Spanish territory, the United States draft contains the statement of intention to supply such assistance, which was expressed to you in the memorandum attached to Ambassador MacVeagh’s letter of October 7.⁴ The reasons which substantiate the United States position in this regard have been fully explained to you in his letter of October 7 with its accompanying memorandum, and I feel that it would be unnecessarily repetitive to restate these reasons now.

I might point out, however, that the mentioned statement of intent is a sincere expression by the United States which sets forth the basis of our plans for continued aid to Spain over a period of years. The good will underlying this intent has, in fact, already been demonstrated by the appropriations which Congress has made for assistance to Spain. Furthermore, on the assumption mentioned in Ambassador MacVeagh’s communication to you of October 7 that mutually satisfactory agreements would be concluded in time, the President’s 1954 budget message, which was presented to the Congress on January 9, 1953, by the prior Administration, contained an estimate for Foreign Aid which took into account potential requirements for aid to Spain.

The paragraph suggested in the Spanish counterdraft regarding the timing and manner of the utilization of the military facilities has been omitted from the United States draft of the Military Facilities agreement. Instead, it is the proposal of my Government that this question be covered in an additional paragraph in the Technical Agreement, as follows:

“In the event of Communist aggression, or imminence thereof, which threatens the security of the West, United States forces may immediately make such use of agreed areas and facilities stipulated in this agreement as may be necessary for the defense of the West; provided that when the need for such use becomes apparent, the United States will immediately so inform the Spanish Government. Should the United States wish to use the agreed areas and facilities for combat purposes as a result of the emergence of any other situation than above specified, such use will be subject to prior consultation between the two Governments.”

In the hope that this new draft will be found acceptable to Your Excellency’s Government and that the new era of cooperation and close association between our two countries will commence without delay, I avail myself [etc.]

John Wesley Jones

1. Drafted by MacVeagh and Jones; a copy was handed by Jones to Yturralde on Mar. 17 and the source text was transmitted to the Department of State as enclosure 1 to despatch 737 on Mar. 18. In addition to the letter from Jones to Martín Artajo (infra), a copy of a Military Facilities Agreement proposed by the United States in response to the Spanish counterdraft of Dec. 23, 1952, was also enclosed. For the origins of this note, see Document 879.
2. See Document 876.
3. Ibid.
4. Document 871.