Thus, more than the past, walking in the present, the here and now:war in Ukraine, NATO's position in the face of the conflict (of which it is not known when it will end), expansion of its members (Finland and Sweden), opposition to it (Turkey vetoes them for being a sanctuary of Kurdish terrorists from the PKK) with the consequent tensions despite those who consider that no one should feel threatened by such incorporations (and Russia?), support for Ukraine of all kinds (without armed intervention), its evolution with the possibility of such an intervention, a door to a nuclear response and a third world war, new strategies for future confrontations, structural changes in the midst of war, a way, if any, to break away from the US, etc. To add also the incidence of espionage to the Spanish Government (Pegasus case) and the dismissal, as a consequence, of the director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), an essential piece, together with the leaders of other European services, for the «Otaniana» Intelligence ». Data with which some analysts, including some military personnel, pose, to the limit, doubts (without providing information) for the holding of the summit in Madrid.
A present that takes us back to the past times of the Cold War from the 1970s and 1980s, to a period in which Europe was the geopolitical chessboard, balanced by fear, in which the North American and Soviet blocs faced each other, hand in hand with a left that is now accused, by of NATO supporters, if it had not evolved since then. However, that past must necessarily be remembered in order to know, understand and comprehend the scant weight of Spain in NATO, as well as what the war in Ukraine is moving, within today, in the Spanish citizenry, and more so when it leaves to hold the aforementioned NATO summit in Madrid.
Summit that should be attended, if not with a certain leadership position, which does not seem possible, at least with the necessary force not to participate, regardless of as a host, as a stone guest, who is not completely trusted and who is ignored due to his doubtful reputation due to some political positions . A host who doesn't seem to have much to say; At the moment little is known about what specific action plans he is going to present except for the invitation to the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, to participate in person at the summit, with all the security issues to be developed, support for the entry of Finland and Sweden into the Atlantic organization, its concern for the southern flank of NATO (specifically on the Maghreb, Sahara and the Sahel), as well as the commitment to double military spending in this decade (thus leaving aside the military criticism that points because we had not invested in Defense for more than ten years).
Thus, although he gives his opinion on the matter and, logically, keeps his intentions secret, it is not known how he is going to participate in the great current challenges to be met by NATO; the most immediate:what is going to be done about the war in Ukraine, how to deal with the new additions (which have already opened the public debate on whether they are going to provide more security or not, by exciting the Russian enemy) and, in the case of Spain , towards the pending coverage of Ceuta and Melilla, what limits can or cannot be exceeded, new dissuasive elements to establish, how to act in the face of the Russian nuclear threat (the worst scenario), or those planned for the future:what strategy o strategies for European security have to be considered for the next ten years (preferably for the eastern and south-Sahel border), survival of the organization as such, etc.
A look into the past. Spain's entry into NATO
The official history reminds us of the steps taken for the entry and continuity of Spain in NATO . A brief review:Madrid Pacts of September 1953 for the location of joint air and naval military bases with the US on Spanish soil (background); NATO member in May 1982; consultative referendum in 1986 that, promised by the PSOE, the left described as "cheating"; incorporation, under pressure (from both the US and Russian sides), into the military structure in January 1999; and, as a consequence, the definitive entry of Spain into the European Economic Community.
However, the important thing in that story is to stand out that, despite the yes in the referendum, this was not majority (with 52.53% of votes in favor of 59.4% of the electorate, compared to 39.84% of votes against and 7.63 of null and blank votes), and the no to said integration has always been present in continuity; a no that continued and continues to become visible in those war situations in which the intervention of Spanish forces could be or was reliable with demonstrations in which they continue to shout, accompanying the no to war!, the no to NATO! , and now with neither Putin, nor NATO, no to war! Stop Putin! The peoples do not need imperialism! Your wars are our dead! All for peace! schools and hospitals!, imperialism is terrorism!, neither the United States, nor Russia, nor NATO!, and the most concrete of NATO not Madrid! (name of a left-wing platform that seeks the non-intervention of Spain in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the cancellation of the summit of the Atlantic organization in Madrid).
Even so, Spain's military contribution has been exemplary ever since; its presence in places of conflict of units and military observers in various missions abroad, humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, has always been highly valued (17 ongoing missions with more than 3,000 soldiers and civil guards deployed on four continents, to which must be added those of the EU); presence that, not without risks, has caused the death, since 1985, of 178 soldiers (169 soldiers and 9 civil guards). A contribution that must be worthy of respect and recognition, however, despite this, a Spanish general has never chaired the NATO Military Committee.
A story that, in principle, welcomed, and continues to welcome, all kinds of analyses, basically two in opposition:those of its defenders since its entry (academicians and center politicians and right, military, and militarists of all kinds...) and the detractors from before the beginning and a posteriori (left in general, anti-war, pacifists in favor of "no war", anti-NATO...); let us remember the socialist opposition together with other parties of the left with large demonstrations against the US military bases in Spanish territory under the slogan of NATO no, bases out! and ¡Yankis a su casa!, as well as various later divergences, such as the initial opposition to Spain's entry into NATO, the withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, the invitation to the allies to leave said country, the presidential grievance at the American flag during the Hispanic Parade of 2003 in Madrid (under the justification that forces intervening in Iraq were parading)... and the set of demonstrations against said organization by different groups of the left, extreme left, anti-military and pacifists, to who, denying that NATO is a defensive organization, affirm that it is offensive (referring to interventions, in addition to the countries mentioned, in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Ukraine in 2014, Syria, Yemen and now again in Ukraine) under the leadership of the US, which is an organization that is superfluous, that has no reason to exist, which they accuse of being at the service of capitalism and the military industries.
Spain and NATO, a complicated relationship put to the test in Ukraine
Positions that are also tangible today, as has been observed in the recent Defense Commission in the Congress of Deputies among the partners of the Government, PSOE, favorable to the NATO, and Podemos, together with ERC, opposed to the Atlantic organization, to the holding of the summit and in favor of the resolution of the war in Ukraine materializing through diplomacy, against the sending of weapons by NATO and The US to the Ukrainian forces in the idea that such shipments can only prolong the war under the somewhat utopian premise that a free society does not need military protection; old theses that, updated, are closer to the current Russian one, in the mouth of its Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, that the European Union is "merging with NATO" , becoming an aggressive and warmongering actor, and even more so when this organization, born after the end of the Second World War, initially for European defense and then to confront the Warsaw Pact, created in 1955 against NATO, has continued to be present with military activities despite its disappearance in 1991.
Is it logical or not then the distrust of the members of NATO and the US towards Spain ? Distrust at the political-military level or only at the political level?
Thus, it is not surprising either that the fortieth anniversary of Spain's entry into NATO is not going to be "celebrated" publicly, since it could be added to said celebration, a month from the summit, a set of demonstrations raised by leftist groups (some in the Government), in continuation of all those previous in time, contrary to NATO; demonstrations that presumably could also take place during the development of the summit.
Thus things are, forty years after our entry into NATO, at the present moment, in which it seems that it is useless to look back, in the face of that update summit, only wondering, outside of ideologies, about future strategies to follow in view of the concrete steps taken so far by NATO. It concerns all Europeans interested in the here and now, and therefore , to Spain:if viable active solutions are really going to be found, apart from threatening, dissuasive movements, to achieve the end of the war and the beginning of peace, or if everything is going to be left in the hands of the evolution of the presumed illness of Vladimir Putin, to find a solution with his substitution/disappearance to the problem, thus giving victory to NATO with a devastated Ukraine.