The passages quoted here name Spain and Portugal without explicitly naming France, Russia, or Britain as targets. In this interpretation, naming another great power could have supplied an easier casus belli. Leaving Britain unnamed also avoided publicly antagonizing the European state with the greatest ability to enforce or defeat the warning. The wording let Washington assert a hemispheric position without forcing London to answer a direct challenge.
Notable Point · 38:04-39:22
The quoted passages avoided a direct challenge to named great powers
The selected passages named Spain and Portugal while leaving France, Russia, and Britain outside the direct warning.