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. Canada Britain

• France Iceland Portugal

• Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg

• 1952 – A Little Farther from the North Atlantic (Demonstration of Truman Doctrine)

• Greece Turkey

• 1954 – A New Democracy• Germany

• 1982 – Death of Fascist Dictator Franco• Spain

The NATO Alliance

The Warsaw Pact• 1955 - 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• 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