Nato (S)

NATO
M. Aamir Sultan
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formed on 4th April 1949 with the signing of the
Washington Treaty, is a military alliance of 28 countries from North America and Europe.
The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium and the organization constitutes a system of collective
defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defense spending,
with the United States alone accounting for about half the total military spending of the world and the United
Kingdom and France accounting for a further 10%.
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NATO has attempted to refocus itself to new challenges and
has deployed troops to Afghanistan as well as to Iraq.
NATO'S FUNDAMENTAL GOAL

“To safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means”.
Security and Freedom:
Based on common values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Alliance has striven since its
inception to secure a just and lasting peaceful order in Europe. It will continue to do so. The achievement of
this aim can be put at risk by crisis and conflict affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Alliance
therefore not only ensures the defense of its members but contributes to peace and stability in this region.
NATO’S MEMBER COUNTRIES:

NATO comprises twenty-eight members:
Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
NATO has added new members seven times since first forming in 1949 (the last 2 in 2009).
Each member nation is normally represented on the North Atlantic Council by an Ambassador or Permanent
Representative supported by a national delegation composed of advisers and officials who represent their
country on different NATO committees. The Council also meets from time to time at the level of Heads of
State and Heads of Government or Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Defense.
NATO’S INTERNATIONAL STAFF:
The NATO Secretary General is a senior international statesman nominated by the member nations both as
Chairman of the North Atlantic Council, Defense Planning Committee, Nuclear Planning Group and of other
senior committees, and as Secretary General of NATO. He also acts as principal spokesman of the
Organization, both in its external relations and in communications and contacts with member governments.
➢ The current NATO Secretary General is Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
HISTORY OF NATO:
Beginning:
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on 4th April’ 1949 and was ratified by the United
States that August.
The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17th March’ 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and
the United Kingdom is considered the precursor to the NATO agreement. The treaty and the Soviet Berlin
Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Union's Defense Organization in September 1948.
However, participation of the United States was thought necessary in order to counter the military power of
the USSR, and therefore talks for a new military alliance began almost immediately.
These talks resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed in Washington, D.C. on 4th April 1949. It
included the five Treaty of Brussels states, as well as the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway,
Denmark and Iceland
The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and
technology, which in many cases meant European countries adopting U.S. practices. The roughly 1300
Standardization Agreements (STANAGs) codifies the standardization that NATO has achieved.
Post Cold War:
The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991 removed the de facto main adversary
of NATO. This caused a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature and tasks. In practice this ended
up entailing a gradual (and still ongoing) expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe, as well as the extension of
its activities to areas that had not formerly been NATO concerns. The first post-Cold War expansion of
NATO came with the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became
part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance.
As part of post-Cold War restructuring, NATO's military structure was cut back and reorganized.
France rejoined NATO's Military Committee in 1995, and since that time has intensified working relations
with the military structure. The policies of current French President Nicolas Sarkozy have resulted in a major
reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on April 4, 2009 which
also included France rejoining the integrated military command of NATO, while maintaining an independent
nuclear deterrent.
. On 8 July 1997, three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited
to join NATO, which finally happened in 1999. In 1998, the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council was
established.
After the September 11 Attacks:
The September 11 attacks caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in its
history. The Article says that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all.
The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed
eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.
CONCLUSION:
NATO is the principal security instrument of the transatlantic community and expression of its common
democratic values. It is the practical means through which the security of North America and Europe are
permanently tied together. NATO enlargement has furthered the U.S. goal of a Europe whole, free, and at
peace.
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty -- that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all -- is at the core of
the Alliance, a promise of collective defense. Article 4 of the treaty ensures consultations among Allies on
security matters of common interest, which after 60 years have expanded from a narrowly defined Soviet
threat to the critical mission in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as peacekeeping in Kosovo and new threats to
security such as cyber attacks, and global threats such as terrorism and piracy that affect the Alliance and its
global network of partners.

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NATO

NATO'S FUNDAMENTAL GOAL

NATO’S MEMBER COUNTRIES:

➢ The current NATO Secretary General is Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Post Cold War:

After the September 11 Attacks:

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