North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZTION :

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also called North Atlantic Alliance is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states of which 28 are in Europe and two are in North America. It was established after World War 2, the organization implement the NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY signed on 4 April 1949. The headquarter of NATO is in BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. The Secretary General of NATO is Jens Stoltenberg and the Chairman of the NATO military committee is LT Admiral Rob Bauer from Royal Netherlands Navy. The total expenses of NATO according to 2019 are US$1.036trillion.

HISTORY

World War 2 had left a trail of destruction in EUROPE killing 36 million people many of them civilians and displacing millions. Germany was conquered by the Soviet Union from the East. The end of the Nazi Rule had also paved the way for Soviet Union expansion in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union was emerging as Super Power. This had led Western Europe and US worried. Tensions were high and political instability was gripping Europe with Germany at the core of it. Despite of the differences UK, the US and France and the Soviet Union came together in 1947 to decide Germany future. But there was little success. Following the failed meeting UK foreign secretary Ernest Bevin was committed to find a solution. The western power had to organize them to defend against Soviet Union. This led to the formation of Brussels treaty signed by Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Netherlands and UK. The treaty aimed to show cooperation among Western European countries and encouraged the US to join the alliance. On April 4, 1949 the US did join. The North Atlantic treaty was signed in Washington DC by 12 countries. Then US President Harry Truman underlined the purpose of Treaty, To maintain friendly relations and economic cooperation with one another, To consult together whenever the territory or independence of any alliance is threatened and to come to aid any one of them who may be attacked. In 1952 more countries joined NATO. After 10 years the nuclear weapons were heavily developed and tested. The UK, FRANCE AND US were testing and experimenting in different parts of the world. In 1961 The Soviets Donated the World most powerful nuclear weapon TSAR BOMBA a very dangerous nuclear weapon estimated to be at least a 50- megaton atmospheric blast. Now both NATO and SOVIET were in possession of the world deadliest nuclear weapons and these both can use these both weapons for mass destruction but an attack on the other would be suicide as these weapons were enough to wipe out both sides. It was a danger everyone was aware of and as a result a NON-POLIFERATION TREATY was signed in 1968. Many non-nuclear countries agreed to never  acquire nuclear weapons, While the Nations with nuclear weapon like US, UK and SOVIET agreed to disarm in time. Over few decades NATO was gaining strength while Soviet union was trying to hold control over eastern Europe. During the 1970 and 1980 the Soviet were one of the top oil and gas producers but as the price of oil started to decrease the country was left to struggle with an economic burden. The Soviets were making little progress. Rallies were being held in Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. The East German Government gave in. On NOV 9, 1989 citizens of East Germany were allowed to visit West Germany and crowds climbed over the Berlin Wall and started bring it down and after this finally the Soviet Union collapsed on DEC 26 1991. After this NATO took a new role and saw itself as a source of peace and security and started to expand its mission globally

RELATIONSHIP OF US AND NATO

The US as NATO largest military power, stationed material and tens of thousands of troops across Europe to support the defense of Western Europe. Due to its size and capabilities The United States played a major role in the formation of NATOS first ever defense integrated military structure. Following the outbreak of the Korean war NATO members feared Soviet Union. So they decided to create an integrated military structure headed by single commander which will be responsible for the planning and execution of all Alliance operations. A SACEUR has always been held by US military officer who is responsible to NATO military committee for the conduct of all Military operation. After 9/11 attack NATO invoked Article 5 for the First time that attack on one ally is attack on all members and it launched its biggest combat operation in Afghanistan with the aim to stabilize the Region.

NATO ROLE IN RUSSIAN-UKRAINE WAR:

Relationships between Russia and Ukraine have been Hostile since 2014 Ukraine Revolution which was followed by Russian Annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Throughout 2021 and 2022 Russian military buildup on the border of Ukraine escalated tensions between the two countries. Ukraine broke diplomatic relations with Moscow in response Russian invasion to Ukraine. NATO mission was to secure peace in Europe. Since Russia illegal and illegitimated annexation of Crimea in 2014. NATO has helped to train, fund and reform Ukraine armed forces and defense institutions. Russia wants an assurance from the West that that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. However US and its Western allies are saying that it’s a sovereign country and it is free to choose its own security alliance.

WHICH COUNTRIES CAN JOIN NATO?

The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY which allows invitation of other European States only.

CRITERIA TO JOIN NATO:

These criteria include a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy, fair treatment of minority populations a commitment to resolve conflicts peacefully and willingness and ability to make military contributions to NATO operations.

MILITARY STRUCTURE:

The military structure consist of

ALLIED COMMAND OPERATIONS:

ACO is responsible for planning and execution of alliance operations. For e.g. Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR.

ALLIED COMMAND TRANSFORMATION:

It defines the future of military context, identifying challenges and opportunities in order to maintain warfighting edge. It gives structure and priority to NATO Forces through defense planning and development.

NATO COUNTRIES:

Total countries are 30

Among these 12 are the original founding member states.

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and THE United states.

Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.                      

POLITICAL NATO: Political-NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security related issues to solve problems build trust and prevent conflicts.

NATO AND ECONOMY:

NATO membership not only reduces conflicts but also commits its members to a free market company. This reduces the risk factors like nationalization and expropriation. NATO provides a forum for joint research by member countries to enable them to establish a common view of the chief issues determining the economic development.