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Line 1: − The '''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''' (NATO) is a military alliance formed in 1949 by the [[United States of America]], non-[[Communism|communist]] western [[Europe]]an nations, and [[Canada]]. Its initial goals were to contain and respond to the threat of communism in Europe and [[Asia]] after [[World War II]]. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Communism, the organization's activities shifted to the global theater, without a central military objective. In the 1990s NATO's only military actions was the controversial Kosovo War. Critics of NATO pointed to the Kosovo War as a sign that NATO had lost its relevance as an organization and should be abolished. However, in 2001, after the attacks on the World Trade Center's and the Pentagon, NATO once again found a common goal and purpose, fighting terrorism. As former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar, "Jihadism has replaced Communism, as Communism replaced Nazism". NATO has taken on the role of fighting terrorism, or Jihadism, as the organization's propose in the 21st century. Proof of this commitment can be seen in NATO recent or current involvement in [[Afghanistan]], Darfur, [[Iraq]] (training troops), and the Mediterranean Sea. − == NATO member countries include: == − *Belgium+ − *Bulgaria+ − *Canada+ − *Czech Republic+ − *Denmark+ − *Estonia − *France − *Germany − *Greece − *Hungary − *Iceland − *Italy − *Latvia − *Lithuania − *Luxembourg − *The Netherlands − *Norway − *Poland − *Portugal − *Romania − *Slovakia − *Slovenia − *Spain − *Turkey − *[[United Kingdom]] − *[[United States]] − + + − Current NATO operations include the UN mandated '''Stabilization and Reconstruction Force''' in Afghanistan, the training of Iraqi Armed Forces, and '''Operation Active Endeavor''' (a counter terrorism efforts in which NATO members and partner nations are patrolling the Mediterranean Sea).+ + + − + − + − [http://www.nato.int/home.htm: NATO's Official Website]+ + +
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (view source)
Revision as of 15:15, March 24, 2007
, 15:15, March 24, 2007no edit summary
'''Chronological History of NATO'''
== Beginning ==
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established shortly after World War II in 1949. The original members consisted of ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada. These countries formed to alliance to further the goal of security in the North Atlantic region, they did this by ingraining the principal that an attack against one member would be considered an attack against all, and thus, all would respond with support to the offended nation. In 1952 NATO began its first round of enlargement of the early alliances history, letting in Turkey and Portugal (which at the time was a dictatorship).
== Cold War ==
NATO acceptance of Western European countries in 1995 led Soviet Russia to set up a counter organization, The Warsaw Treaty Organization (or Warsaw Pact). Common defense and the ongoing MAD strategy, and economic crisis led the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty Organization’s demise. NATO’s transatlantic relations and prevention where key to the end of the Cold war and the beginning of a interlinking of United States and European policies, which still remains to this day.
==Current NATO operations==
== Kosovo ==
After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold war. NATO had seemed to lose it purpose; it no longer had the threat of USSR. NATO began to shift its focus to from its original defense alliance to a more offensive mode. In 1999 the United States led its NATO on a bombing campaign to stop Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević's ethic cleansing of the Albanian’s inside of Kosovo. Interestedly, Turkey one of the leading forces on the NATO mission was having similar problems inside its country with its treatment of its Kurdish population. The mission in Kosovo did not go as well as planed. After the air strikes havoc reigned over Kosovo, abuses continued and human right organizations listed abuses committed by the Alliance members on the campaign. After NATO countries and the UN took on a mission to stabilize and reconstruct the country which still remains to this day.
== Modern History ==
After Kosovo, NATO’s ability to be an offensive organization was in question. Some called for the abolishment of the organization, stating that it had lost it original purpose.
NATO began to look for its new goal in the 21 century. Then on September 11, 2001, its goal was defined. Responding to the attack on the World Trade Center, NATO countries quickly responded as they had promise in Article Five of the founding treating. AWAK airplanes were sent on surveillance and NATO began its first and only article five mission to this day, Operation Active Endeavor, which was a Maritime mission to protect the Mediterranean from terrorist operations and drug, WMD trafficking. After the end of the cold war European defense spending had weakened and its military lacked technology and modernization. In 2002, NATO met for its annual summit, which was held in Prague. The 19 country alliance made a list of improvements that its members needed to make in order to effectively fight the war on terror, these improvements called for, among other thing, a NATO Military Concept for Defense against Terrorism. NATO members also took steps to modernize there forces, all 19 countries agreed to spend at least 2% of there GDP on defense. NATO had found its new focus, terrorism. As the Spain’s former José María Aznar, said, “Jihadism has replaced Communism, as Communism replaced Nazism, as an existential threat to the liberal democracies.”
'''Related Links'''
== Further Expansion and Russian Relations ==
In 2004 NATO further expanded to Eastern European countries, these included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania, resulting in an organization of 26 nations. This spark of expansion was seen as an offensive move by Russia and caused a rife in the in NATO, Russia relations. The Russian lower house released to the press a statement, "At present we are debating the draft statement of the State Duma which we are planning to adopt in connection with NATO's expansion eastward. Our opinion is equivocal that this act is erroneous. I think that this is a big historical mistake on the part of western states,"
== Afghanistan ==
NATO took command and co-ordination of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003. NATO and some non-member states joined (such as Australia and Japan), the initial mission was limited to Kabul, but soon expanded. In 2006, when NATO took over full command, the Taliban began a major campaign. Commanders complained that there forces were being restricted by national caveats and also that they needed more troops. In November of 2006, at another NATO summit in Riga, NATO countries removed 15% of caveats placed on troops. NATO called on member governments to provide more troops to there mission in Afghanistan but countries were stretched thin in Kosovo as well as a mission in Iraq of training the new government’s security force. Only one NATO members was able to send more troops to the Afghanistan mission.