Atlantic Alliance

Alliance formed as a result of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. The Atlantic Alliance provided the basis of what is now commonly referred to as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in the aftermath of World War II to form an alliance that would come into play only against armed attack. As stated in Article 5 of the treaty, such an attack “against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” However, due to the anti-imperialist position of the United States, attacks on colonies of member states would not qualify as an attack against a member state. The original purpose of the Atlantic Alliance has been described as a “program for keeping the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” On May 14, 1955, with the signing of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union formed its own alliance to counterbalance NATO.

There were 12 original signatories to the alliance treaty: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the alliance, and West Germany joined in 1955. Later, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain would join NATO. As of 2005, there were 26 member countries in the alliance.

The NATO alliance comprises both political and military branches. The North Atlantic Council, which consists of high-level representatives of each country, heads the political side of NATO. At the head of this body is the secretary-general. The Defense Planning Committee (DPC) heads NATO's military structure. The DPC is made up of permanent representatives from all members of the alliance except France, which in 1966 chose to remove itself from the military arm of NATO. Additionally, each member country's defense ministers meet twice during the year. There are two Supreme Allied Commanders: the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, headquartered in Belgium, and the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, headquartered in Virginia. The first person to hold the latter post was U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower. Alliance military forces remain under their respective country's control until otherwise assigned by the council.

The presence of a communist superpower defined NATO's role during the Cold War. Tasked with [Page 51]protecting Europe from Soviet attack, NATO strategy evolved with changing military and political developments. At first, NATO relied on nuclear deterrence, but with the testing of the atomic bomb by the Soviets in August 1949 and the subsequent buildup of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, NATO lost its nuclear advantage. In 1957, NATO adopted a strategy of massive retaliation in the case of Soviet aggression. This later changed to a more flexible, graduated response instead of the limited option of massive retaliation.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War raised questions about the future of NATO in the new political environment. However, NATO soon proved that it still played a viable role in the post–Cold War era. This role was exemplified by NATO involvement in ending the conflict in Kosovo during the late 1990s. Clearly, one possible role for NATO in the future will focus on conflict resolution, humanitarian efforts, and regional security.

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