===Article 5 invoked first time - Afghanistan ===
{{See also|Rape of Afghanistan}}
[[File:As long as it takes.PNG|right|300px|thumb|''Reuters'' from 2010. NATO withdrew from Afghanistan after the country was destroyed without delivering freedom or democracy.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-afghanistan/uk-to-stay-in-afghanistan-as-long-as-it-takes-idUSTRE6A71TI20101108</ref>]]
[[File:KabulHasFallen.png|right|250px|thumb|]]
NATO began to look for its new goal in the 21 century. After the attacks on the [[World Trade Centers]] and [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] on September 11, 2001, NATO countries quickly responded by aiding the [[United States]], as they had promised in Article Five of their founding treaty. AWACS 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 and WMD trafficking.