Embracing a Dictatorship: US Relations with Spain, 1945–53

As a result of deteriorating relations with the Soviet Union, foreign policy makers in Washington became willing to enter a series of controversial agreements with fascist Spain in return for strategic military bases. Large sections of the Spanish political establishment and the left-wing opposition have criticized Franco for having bought these agreements at the cost of national sovereignty. This book is the first account to give the full story of the diplomatic bluff and counter-bluff which lay behind the ultimate compromise.