NATO

1949

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

to provide a political and military alliance that connects North America with Europe; collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security

collective defense: an attack against one is an attack against all

Grecian civil war, Turkey conflicts, Soviet-sponsored coup in Czechoslovakia, communist rise in Italy, Soviet blockade against US-Britain-France- controlled East Germany

United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom

Warsaw Treaty Organization

Greece and Turkey

West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)

(28 countries in total) ALBANIA (2009) BELGIUM (1949) BULGARIA (2004) CANADA (1949) CROATIA (2009) CZECH REPUBLIC (1999) DENMARK (1949) ESTONIA (2004) FRANCE (1949) GERMANY (1955) GREECE (1952) HUNGARY (1999) ICELAND (1949) ITALY (1949) LATVIA (2004) LITHUANIA (2004) LUXEMBOURG (1949) NETHERLANDS (1949) NORWAY (1949) POLAND (1999) PORTUGAL (1949) ROMANIA (2004) SLOVAKIA (2004) SLOVENIA (2004) SPAIN (1982) TURKEY (1952) THE UNITED KINGDOM (1949) THE UNITED STATES (1949)

signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4

fall of the Berlin Wall

Soviet Union breaks up; NATO adds former enemies to the organization

NATO's first major crisis: Bosnia and Herzegovina

9/11 terrorist attacks invoke collective security (Article 5) for the first time

NATO controls International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan

NATO adopts "active engagement, modern defense" principle

UN, EU, and OSCE (Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe) because of [belated] success in Bosnia and Kosovo. EU was more elitist whereas NATO accepted any qualified European country

Brussels, Belgium

Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty states that "an armed attack against one or more [member states] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all". Used only once in history: after 9/11

peacekeeping in Kosovo (semi-recognized state that declared independence from Serbia); counter-terrorism and human-trafficking patrols in the Mediterranean; counter-piracy off the Horn of Africa (scheduled to end in December 2016); support for African Union forces in Somalia; security assistance in Afghanistan; policing the skies over eastern Europe; and assistance in Ukraine

NATO's military structure is split between two strategic commands: the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe located near Mons, Belgium, and the Allied Command Transformation located in Norfolk, Virginia. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, always a U.S. flag or general officer (currently Gen. Philip M. Breedlove) heads all NATO military operations. Although the alliance has an integrated command, most forces remain under their respective national commands until NATO-specific operations commence. NATO's secretary-general (currently Norway's Jens Stoltenberg) serves a four-year term as chief administrator and international envoy.

The North Atlantic Council is the alliance's principal political body, composed of high-level delegates from each member state.

NATO officially has acknowledged some of this disparity on its website: "There is an over-reliance by the Alliance as a whole on the United States for the provision of essential capabilities, including for instance, in regard to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; air-to-air refueling; ballistic missile defense; and airborne electronic warfare."

started with Cold War, then annexation of Crimea, invasion of Georgia, destabilization of Ukraine; Putin's disrespect for NATO and NATO's technology

put troops in crucial border states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to prevent Russians from destabilizing them; use bombing campaign in Syria against ISIS

counter-piracy off Horn of Africa, counter-terrorism and anti-trafficking in Mediterranean, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya

at least 2% of GDP should be spent on defense

Russia annexed Crimea and has pro-Russian activists attacking (shooting down MH-17 Malaysian Airlines flight, conflict in Ukraine); NATO cannot help Ukraine because it is not a member of NATO so Article 5 does not apply to it

no more hostile relations between the two

Russian nationalists seized Ukrainian cities after annexation of Crimea, Russia supported the nationalists with weapons and support, shot down MH-17, lots of fighting and chaos; NATO must respond with more economic sanctions (working) and troops and supplies to help the Ukrainians and allow Ukraine to decide its own course

cyber attacks and unconventional forces