 The military alliance that unites the US and European countries.  They agree to defend each other from outside threats. ( “ Any attack in Europe or North America against any member is an attack against all ”.)  There are currently 28 member nations. What is NATO?

The Chicago 2012 NATO Summit = a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Albania Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain The Netherlands Turkey United Kingdom United States of America

A number of other countries were also invited to participate in the 2012 NATO Summit: Afghanistan Kazakhstan Morocco Pakistan Qatar Russia Switzerland Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Secretary General of the United Nations

This is only the 3 rd time since NATO was formed in 1949 that the US has hosted a summit, and it is the FIRST time ever for one to be held in an American city other than Washington. The 2010 NATO Summit was held in Lisbon, Portugal.

What was the main item discussed? Afghanistan: the other NATO countries have soldiers fighting the war there, like we do. All the NATO members have decided to have their soldiers out of Afghanistan by 2014, including us. But President Obama does not want us to be left over there on our own, so he tried to convince the others to stick around with us.

President Obama and President Hami Karzai of Afghanistan.

Issues Regarding Afghanistan 1. Security & the Taliban – the Taliban and Afghan militants sill launch regular attacks against Western forces, and the Afghan military and police forces that NATO have been training are not yet prepared to take on responsibility for their own security. Afghan forces depend heavily on Western money as well. If the financial support dries up, there will not be enough troops to secure the country.

2. Security & the Opium Trade: the withdrawal of Western troops may lead to a boom in the heroin market – where the Taliban finds much of its funding. When the US troops withdraw, illicit trafficking will skyrocket. 3. The Economy – the departure of the US from Afghanistan will have a profound effect on the Afghan economy. If international donors pull funding too fast, it could cause economic collapse in Afghanistan as attempts to foster new industries there have yet to bear fruit.

1.Afghanistan 2. NATO Modernization: most alliance members don’t have the money for new defense spending but the alliance is laboring under the weight of outdated equipment. The alliance risks falling apart if it continues to leave the hardest fighting and biggest bills to the U.S. 3. Missile Defense – the alliance has partly completed a missile defense shield for Europe against possible missile threats from Iran or elsewhere. Russia opposes the system which is largely why Russian President Putin did not attend the summit. Main Issues of the NATO Summit in Chicago

Why did people protest? There is no need for such a potentially destructive military organization. When NATO abuses its military power, it cannot be countered. Outrage at war makers wasting trillions of dollars on war during a time of enormous economic hardship. End to the global arms race; desire for a nuclear-free world Opposition to violence; opposition to the war in Afghanistan.