Why Was NATO Formed?

To get a better idea of what NATO is and why it was formed 60 years ago, it would be best to look at the individual words that make up its title. This will provide some insight into what the founders had in mind and will show us something about what its purpose is today.

Nations in the general area of the northern portion of the Atlantic Ocean gathered in 1949 to put together an organization that would provide mutual aid in case of attack by a group or country that was not a member of NATO. The word “treaty” refers to the agreement signed by the members.

Headquarters for NATO are in Brussels, Belgium. In the early years of its existence, the organization’s members were not called on to supply the military assistance outlined in its documents. But the war in Korea brought additional pressure on members to get involved in the affairs of other nations. In fact, there were specific, informal, guidelines provided by the original head of NATO, called the Secretary General.

Lord Ismay stated that the Russians and Germans were primary “targets” for the group, while the United States was the country that should be encouraged and assisted in worldwide action. The French leaders withdrew their military support at one point during the 1960s because of general disagreement with the objectives of the remaining members.

Much of the activity undertaken by NATO in the 1980s and 1990s involved serious problems in Europe, including Albania, Croatia and Iraq. At this time there were more than two dozen members. New guidelines were established as recently as 2002, as the European Union was recognized as an individual that could act in a crisis situation. Wikipedia indicates that the United States provides almost half of the total spending on military activity, while a handful of other European nations provide a significant part of the remaining financial support.

Most historical records show that a treaty signed in Brussels in 1948 between five European nations was the unofficial beginning of NATO. Action taken to prevent the Soviet Union from growing in strength also provided incentive for several countries in Europe to become involved in the cooperative movement.

In its basic form, NATO provides help to individual countries or groups of member countries because its charter states that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all members. Even with this understanding members reserve the right to decide how they will respond. One result of the cooperation among members was the establishment of standards in military equipment and communication.

Though NATO does provide some stability and feelings of safety in numbers, there have been disagreements between two members at times. The U.S. and Great Britain indicated opposition to allowing Greece and Turkey into the alliance without some clarification of the procedure for admitting new members. France withdrew in the early years as a protest of the role of the United States. President Charles DeGaulle felt the U.S. wielded too much power within the organization.

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