NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

What is NATO?  A political organization  A military organization “NATO’s fundamental role and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means.”

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military or defense alliance formed in 1949 by 12 countries in Western Europe and North America Original purpose – to protect its members from a possible attack from the Soviet Union (Containment) First peacetime alliance in U.S. history An alliance of nations with shared values. All members are DEMOCRACIES Has been the most important U.S. alliance for the past (almost) 60 years

Members share common values Freedom Rule of law Individual liberty Common heritage Democracy Solidarity Well-being Peace and stability

 Article 5 – Washington Treaty An armed attack against one or more members considered as an attack against all  This is the bedrock of the treaty The right to self-defence – Article 51 UN Charter  Operate when and where necessary to fight terrorism No geographic limitation – foreign ministers at Reykjavik, May 2002 The Principle of Collective Defense

NATO Treaty – Article 5 “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all…” No NATO member was ever attacked during the Cold War – it never had to use its military forces The first (and only) time a NATO member was attacked was… September 11, 2001

Who is in NATO? 1949 – 12 Original Members U.S.CanadaBritain FranceIcelandPortugal BelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourg 1952 – A Little Farther from the North Atlantic (Demonstration of Truman Doctrine) GreeceTurkey 1954 – A New Democracy Germany 1982 – Death of Fascist Dictator Franco Spain

The NATO Alliance

The Warsaw Pact The Soviet response to the creation of NATO Consisted of the Soviet Union and its six satellite countries in Eastern Europe East Germany Poland Hungary Czechoslovakia Bulgaria Romania The Warsaw Pact no longer exists

Eastward Expansion As democracy spread throughout Eastern Europe, NATO is adding new members 1999 – Three former Warsaw Pact members were admitted into NATO Poland Hungary The Czech Republic 2002 – Seven former communist states in Eastern Europe added Estonia Latvia Lithuania Slovenia Slovakia Bulgaria

2002 How do you think Russia feels about this?

What NATO Does Today (besides collective defense) Key areas of practical cooperation  Defence reform and modernization of armed forces  Capabilities for multinational crisis-management operations  Terrorism and new security challenges  Disaster-preparedness and response  Scientific and environmental cooperation

NATO-Russia Council This was a RAPPROCHEMENT between NATO and Russia May 2002 – Both sides signed an agreement Russia WILL: Be given a say at the table with the 26 NATO members Be an “equal partner” in discussions on key topics

NATO-Russia Council Russia WILL NOT: Be a member of NATO Be bound by NATO’s defense pact Have a veto over NATO’s decisions Have a vote over NATO’s expansion