NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)

In 1949, in the aftermath of World War II (1939–1945), sixteen nations in Europe and North America developed the North Atlantic Treaty. It was a measure designed to block the threat of military aggression in Europe by the Soviet Union. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) united Western Europe and North America in a mutual security and self-defense agreement. If one of the sixteen members was attacked, they would all fight in defense.

The agreement, at first intended solely to discourage the Soviet Union, created a framework for further cooperation between the members on military, political, economic, and social matters. The members of NATO at the time of its inception were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

While the North Atlantic treaty calls for the peaceful resolution of disputes, the organization is prepared for self-defense. NATO's military forces are comprised of units volunteered from each of its members. The forces are based under three main commands: the Atlantic Command, the Channel Command, and the Allied Command Europe. The supreme Allied commander heads the three commands and directs units in exercising NATO military forces. In times of peace, the three commands plan the defense of their regions.

NATO also has a policy wing, called the North Atlantic Council, a nonmilitary policy group comprised of permanent delegates from all NATO members. The North Atlantic Council is led by a secretary-general and is responsible for general policy, budget issues, and administrative actions. A Military Committee, comprised of the chiefs of staff of member nations' armed forces, meets twice a year to advise the Council.

NATO headquarters was initially established in Paris, France, but in the 1960s French President Charles DeGaulle (1890–1970) complained the United States had too much control over NATO and, in fact, dominated the organization. In 1966, France expelled NATO troops from the country. As a result NATO headquarters moved from Paris to Brussels, Belgium, where it remains today.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO expanded its membership to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. This raised concerns from Russia about NATO intentions. Russia sees NATO expansion as a threat to its sphere of influence in eastern Europe. Since the 1991 collapse of NATO's main foe, questions have also been raised regarding the continued need for the organization.

In the late 1990s, those questions were quieted by NATO involvement in Yugoslavia. In 1999, NATO launched a military campaign against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in response to his brutal repression of ethnic Albanians in the region of Kosovo. This marked the first time in NATO's history that it became the aggressor in a regional matter outside the boundaries of its member states.

See also: World War II