Word: francoed
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Wherever the West faced the Russians, its moral position was weakened by the embarrassing fact of Franco. Geographically and historically Fascist Spain was a responsibility of the Atlantic powers. If they could not get rid of the anachronism in Madrid, time might bring an opportunity for renewed Russian intervention, far to the west of the present Russian sphere...
...Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, who has said he detests Fascist Spain, was well aware of the desperately delicate situation. He and non-socialist democrats were struggling against Communism for the political soul of Europe, for the trust of men who would never again trust those who tolerated Franco. The U.S. was more remote from the scene, but as the leading power of the democratic coalition, the U.S. was not remote from the responsibility...
...objective-Franco's downfall-was clear, the way to achieve it was not. Armed intervention, severance of diplomatic relations, or even a mere shutting off of oil shipments to Spain-any one of these might bring about a change of regime. But unless the democracies' plans were carefully laid, a change of regime under any of these circumstances might also plunge Spain again into the abyss of civil war. The western democracies knew, and Franco knew they knew, that civil war might bring civil chaos and Communism's great opportunity. Franco's confident defiance sprang from...
While London and Washington stuck doggedly to a "moderate" policy, Moscow cried out against Anglo-American "inadequacy," called for a "radical solution . . . immediate rupture of diplomatic relations with Franco. . . . As is well known, the Soviet Government . . . does not maintain any relations with Franco Spain." This week Washington and London declined to join Paris in citing Franco before the UNO Security Council as a menace to world peace. But Moscow agreed to go along...
This was Russia's opportunity to try putting the Anglo-Americans across a propaganda barrel-the kind Russia had endured over Iran. This was also Franco's opportunity-as it had been the opportunity of Hitler. For all he was worth, the wily Gallegan dictator played Russia against Britain...