by Ayhan Ahmet MİLLİDERE
Copyright © 2018
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 to break the Soviet Union’s influence in Europe. The goal of the organization, which was established when 12 nations came together, was determined to “protect the freedom, common heritage and civilization” of its members by “providing stability in the North Atlantic region”. Member States have adopted an aggravated assault on a country against all members. In the United States, General Dwight Eisenhower became NATO commander in 1950. Greece and Turkey in 1952, West Germany joined NATO in 1955, but always as a military organization in the United States (US) was at the time. French President Charles de Gaulle said in 1966 that “France could be separated from NATO” to protest American sovereignty in the alliance. The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries established the Warsaw Pact against NATO in 1955. The Pact was left with the disintegration of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, members of the former Warsaw Pact, joined NATO in 1999. With the participation of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania in March, the number of NATO member countries increased to 26 in March. Croatia, Albania and Macedonia also applied to join the organization.
“From ‘against communism’ to ‘against terrorism”
II. NATO, which was set up to break the Soviet Union’s influence in Europe after World War II, lost its aim of existence with the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. Since that day, NATO has put a more interventionist role in place of defense, saying “instability anywhere in Europe will pose a threat to member countries”. At the end of 1995, the organization formed a multinational force (IFOR) under the control of the United Nations for the first time in its history, with a view to the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia. NATO also carried out an 11-week bombing campaign in 1999 to get Serbian forces out of Kosovo. With this bombardment, NATO first used military force against a sovereign state without UN approval. In 2003, NATO also played an active role outside of Europe for the first time, taking command of the “peacekeeping force” deployed in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, NATO joined forces with former Warsaw Pact members; especially with Russia, concerned about the alliance’s eastward expansion. With the “Partnership for Peace” project implemented in 1994, NATO has opened an alliance to the former Warsaw Pact countries with information exchange, joint exercises and “peacekeeping” operations. A permanent Joint Council was established in 1997 between Russia and NATO, saying that they were “concerned” about these developments. With the Council, “when common interests are at stake,” Russia was also given a consultative role, but no veto was granted.
Post 9/11
The attacks against US targets in September 11, 2001, were also a turning point for NATO. At the time, NATO Secretary General George Robertson did not use NATO in the military operations that the US had undertaken after the attacks, although the treaty did not bring the 5th article of the treaty into question, saying that “the attack on one member would have been made to all members.” Russia’s support for the US after September 11 led to the progress of NATO-Russia relations. In May 2002, Russia established the NATO-Russia Council, which gave equal authority to other NATO countries on “terrorism and security threats”. The tension between Germany, France and the invading US during the occupation of Iraq led to one of the biggest crises of NATO. Although the Alliance did not play any important role, many member states participated in the occupation. The role of NATO in the occupation was to indirectly provide technical support to the Polish leadership. Nevertheless, NATO has set a new target after September 11th to “act against global terrorism against threats anywhere in the world”. The first application of this policy emerged when NATO took control of the international “peacekeeping force” (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2003. After the operation in Afghanistan, the alliance formed a new 9,000-strong military force capable of rapid operation. It is aimed to transform this union into a union of 21 thousand people by 2006.
NATO member countries and their alliance dates are as follows:
Founding members: Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, France, Iceland, Italy, United Kingdom, United States.
(1952): Turkey, Greece
(1985): Germany
(1982): Spain
(1999): Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary
(2004): Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia
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Published: Apr 15, 2018
Latest Revision: Apr 15, 2018
Ourboox Unique Identifier: OB-461780
Copyright © 2018