- NATO Responsible for Injuring Orthodox Priest in Terrorist Act. (April 2, 2004)
...NATO troops burst into a house last night at 02.15 MSK after breaking down the... - NATO Planning For Takeover Of Afghan Military Operations (October 13, 2004)
...NATO could order the start of military planning for a possible takeover of oper... - Bush to Welcome New NATO Members (March 29, 2004)
...WASHINGTON - Seven former Soviet bloc countries will be welcomed into NATO on Monday, as U.S. President George W. Bush meets with their leaders at th... - A Polite Mutiny (July 25, 2002)
...their power. Few in Europe's leadership seem to grasp that if the European NATO governments and public indeed object to a U.S. attack on Iraq, as they say... - Questions Over Int'l Force for Iraq (June 30, 2003)
...northern Iraq under Polish command. Jerzy Nowak, Poland's ambassador to Nato, said: "We are determined to implement the plan despite some difficulties... - NATO Enters Afghan Mire (August 11, 2003)
...Bosnia, Kosovo and now Afghanistan — the area of NATO's peacekeeping missions has been enlarged to include those countries that... - Powell Tells Europeans to Lay Off US (May 18, 2002)
...ive interview with the Guardian, he pointed to the imminent enlargement of Nato around the borders of Russia and Moscow's acquiescence in the proposed US... - NATO Mulls Rapid Response (November 5, 2002)
...The North Atlantic Treaty Organization appears set to embrace a radically new military posture and strategy that... - Keeping Troops out of the Question, Schroeder Lists Criteria for 'Yes' Vote on Iraq (May 28, 2004)
...out his potential support for the new U.S. Iraq resolution and the role of NATO after the Iraqi transitional government takes control at the end of June. ... - US Peacekeeping at Risk (June 21, 2002)
...lded by the United Nations or even endorsed by the world body, such as the Nato-led troops in Kosovo or Bosnia. "We will not put American men and wome... - NATO Tries to Heal Split Over Iraq (February 11, 2003)
...Intensive consultations are under way between the member governments of Nato to try to resolve a damaging dispute over when to start military preparati... - Senate Asks Bush to Employ NATO, UN in Iraq (July 10, 2003)
... voted unanimously on Thursday to encourage President Bush to reach out to NATO and the United Nations for help in peacekeeping and rebuilding in Iraq, re... - Arab League Chief Warns US Against Wider War (June 14, 2002)
...or Muslims of terrorist intentions and cultures." In separate comments, NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said the alliance — traditionally fo... - Afghanistan Conference Ends with Focus on Drugs, Security (April 1, 2004)
...ld not be left alone in its attempts to stabilize the war-torn country. NATO members told Karzai that troops from the ISAF peacekeeping force would sta... - US and Russia Will Sign Nuclear Pact to Reduce Warheads (May 13, 2002)
...ramework for relations between the two states. At the Iceland meeting, NATO nations' foreign ministers will take another step toward bringing Russian... - The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czech Republic (1999)
- Denmark
- France
- Germany (1955)
- Greece (1952)
- Hungary (1999)
- Iceland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland (1999)
- Portugal
- Spain (1982)
- Turkey (1952)
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Lord Ismay (United Kingdom): 4 April 1952 - 16 May 1957
- Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium): 16 May 1957 - 21 April 1961
- Dirk Stikker (Netherlands): 21 April 1961 - 1 August 1964
- Manlio Brosio (Italy): 1 August 1964 - 1 October 1971
- Joseph Luns (Netherlands): 1 October 1971 - 25 June 1984
- Peter Carington, 6th Lord Carrington (United Kingdom): 25 June 1984 - 1 July 1988
- Manfred Wörner (Germany): 1 July 1988- 13 August 1994
- Sergio Balanzino (Italy, acting): 13 August - 17 October 1994
- Willy Claes (Belgium): 17 October 1994 - 20 October 1995
- Sergio Balanzino (Italy, acting): 20 October - 5 December 1995
- Javier Solana (Spain): 5 December 1995 - 6 October 1999
- George Robertson, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (United Kingdom): 14 October 1999 - 1 January 2004
- Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (Netherlands): 1 January 2004 - present.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: 2 April 1951 - 30 May 1952
- Matthew Ridgway: 30 May 1952 - 11 July 1953
- Alfred Gruenther: 1 July 1953 - 20 November 1956
- Lauris Norstad: 20 November 1956 - 1 January 1963
- Lyman Lemnitzer: 1 January 1963 - 1 July 1969
- Andrew Goodpaster: 1 July 1969 - 15 December 1974
- Alexander Haig: 15 December 1974 - 1 July 1979
- Bernard Rogers: 1 July 1979 - 26 June 1987
- John Galvin: 26 June 1987 - 23 June 1992
- John Shalikashvili: 23 June 1992 - 22 October 1993
- George Joulwan: 22 October 1993 - 11 July 1997
- Wesley Clark: 11 July 1997 - 3 May 2000
- Joseph Ralston: 3 May 2000 - 17 January 2003
- James L. Jones: 17 January 2003 - present
NATO
(Redirected from North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international organization for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. Its other official name is the French language equivalent, l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord, or OTAN.
The core provision of the treaty is Article V, which states:
This provision was intended so that if the Soviet Union launched an attack against the European allies of the United States, it would be treated as if it was an attack on the United States itself. However the feared Soviet invasion of Europe never came. Instead, the provision was used for the first time in the treaty's history on September 12, 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack.
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Member States
From the foundation in 1949 or with the year of accession.
Greece and Turkey joined the organization in February 1952. Germany joined as West Germany in 1955 and German unification in 1990 extended the membership to the areas of former East Germany. Spain was admitted on May 30, 1982 and the former Warsaw Pact Countries of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic made history by becoming members on March 12, 1999.
France is still a member of NATO but retired from the military command in 1966. Iceland, the sole member of NATO which does not have its own military force, joined on the condition that they would not be forced to participate in warfare.
History
March 17, 1948: Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Brussels which is a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
April 4, 1949: NATO treaty signed in Washington, DC.
May 14, 1955: Warsaw Pact treaty signed in Warsaw by the Soviet Union and its satellite states in order to counterbalance NATO. Both organisations were opposing sides in the Cold War. After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Warsaw Pact disintegrated.
1966: Charles de Gaulle decides to remove France from NATO's military command to pursue its own nuclear defence program. This precipitates the relocation of the NATO Headquarters from Paris, France to Brussels, Belgium by October 16, 1967. While the political headquarters is located in Brussels the military headquarters, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), are located just south of Brussles, in the town of Mons.
March 31, 1991: The Warsaw Pact comes to an end. It is officially dissolved on July 1.
March 24, 1999: NATO saw its first military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it waged an 11-week bombing campaign against Serbia and Montenegro ending on June 11, 1999.
July 8, 1997: Three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland are invited to joined NATO. They join in 1999.
November 21, 2002: During the Prague (Czech Republic) summit seven countries are invited to start talks in order to join the Alliance: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. The invited countries are expected to join NATO in 2004. Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will probably be told they have not met the economic, political and military reform criteria and will have to wait. Croatia applied only in 2002 and has just started the process.
September 13, 2001: NATO invoked, for the first time in its history, an article in its charter that states that any attack on a member state is considered an attack against the entire alliance. This came in response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack.
February 10, 2003: NATO faced a serious crisis because of France and Belgium breaking the procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. Germany did not use its right to break the procedure but said it supported the veto.
April 16, 2003: NATO agreed to take command in August of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two nations leading ISAF at the time of the agreement. It was approved unanimously by all 19 NATO ambassadors. The handover of control to NATO took place on August 11, and marked first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. Canada had originally been slated to take over ISAF by itself on that date.
June 19, 2003: A major restructuring of the NATO military commands began as the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic was disestablished and a new command, Allied Command Transformation was established in Norfolk, Virginia, US.
Secretaries General of NATO
Supreme Allied Commanders Europe (SACEUR)
Note: starting with Ridgway all SACEUR have been simultaneously Commander in Chief, US European Command (CINCEUR)
See also: Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, OSCE, Partnership for Peace, WEU, UN, Atlantic Council
External links