A core provision of the accord is Article V, which states:

This provision was arranged and so that whenever a USSR and its allies launched an attack against any of the NATO members, it would be treated when in case it was an attack in everthing member states. This marked the important vary for the United States, which experienced traditionally favoured isolationistic policies. Yet, a despised invasion of American Europe never come. Instead, a provision was invoked first in the accord's history in September 12, 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States the day before.

Look at likewise: Ranks and Insignia of member nations of NATO Member states

Founding members (April 4, 1949)
* * * 1966 France withdraws from either a integrated comm& of NATO and everthing NATO forces leave France * * * * * * *

States that joined NATO during the Cold War

(February 18, 1952) (February 18, 1952) (May 9, 1955 as West Germany) (May 30,1982)

Former Eastern Bloc states that joined NATO after the Cold War
1990: (October 3, 1990 - East Germany reunifies with West Germany, forming today's Germany) 1999: (May 27, 1999) (May 27, 1999) (May 27, 1999) 2004: (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004) (March 29, 2004)

Other states that joined NATO after the Cold War

Greece & Turkey joined a organisation within February 1952. Germany joined when West Germany in 1955 and German reunification on October 3, 1990 extended the membership to the areas of the previous German Democratic Republic which became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Spain was admitted in May 301982, and a previous Warsaw Pact countries of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic made history by becoming members on March 121999.

France occurs as member of NATO, however it withdrew from either a integrated military command inside 1966. Resulting this guide, a NATO headquarters was moved from Paris to Brussels. Iceland, a resole member of NATO which doesn't stand its have military group (a Icelandic Defense Force being the United States Military contingent for good stationed inside Iceland), joined on the affliction that it would non exist as potential to establish of these.

Greece withdrew its forces from either either NATO’s military command structure from 1974 to 1980 as a result of Greco-Turkish tensions following the 1974 Cyprus dispute.

Slovenia and the previous Warsaw Pact countries of Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania officially acceded to NATO on March 292004. It attended their foremost NATO meeting within April 2004.

Albania, Croatia, & a FYR of Macedonia come a tercet countries presently in the NATO MAP (Membership Action Programme); it might in all likelihood join NATO later.

Political structure
Such as any alliance, NATO is at last governed by its Xxvi member states. Nonetheless, a N Atlantic Treaty, & more agreements, outline how else decisions come to become manufactured in NATO. Every of the Xxvi members sends the delegation or even mission to NATO's headquarters within Brussels, Belgium. the senior lasting member of both delegation is referred to as a Lasting Representative & is typically a senior civil servant or an experienced ambassador (and holding that diplomatic rank).

Together a Permanent Members form a North Atlantic Council (NAC), the immune system which meets together at least it used to be that a week & has effectual political authority & powers of guide inside NATO. At times a Council likewise meets at higher levels involving Foreign Ministers, Defence Ministers or Heads of Government and it is at these meetings that major decisions on NATO's policies come usually taken. Even so, these are worth noting that a Council has a equivalent authority & powers of guide-making, & its decisions own a equivalent status & validity, at whatever level it meets.

A meetings of the N Atlantic Council come chaired per Secretary General of NATO &, when decisions keep around to become processed, action is agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and most common accord. No balloting or even guide by majority. Both united states represented at a Council board or even in any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty & responsibility for its have decisions.

A 2nd polar member of apiece united states's delegation is the Military Representative, the senior officer from either every united states's armed forces. Together the Armed services Representatives form a Military Committee, a system responsible recommending to NATO's political authorities people measures considered necessary for the most common defence of the NATO front yard. Its main role is to provide counsel & advice in military policy & strategy. It will bring counsel in military interest a NATO Strategic Commanders, whose representatives attend its meetings, & is responsible the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. Prefer a council, on occasion a Military Committee too meets at a higher level, videlicet at a level of Chiefs of Defence, the virtually all senior officer around every nations armed forces.

inside addition to this strictly internal structure, there is the total of shiloh cooperations & consultations in a spirit of partnership. Since 1994, a Mediterranean Dialogue is a forum with pro-american Arab countries (Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania & Tunisia) & Israel. Partnership for Peace

Military structure

NATO's operation come directed by deuce Strategic Commanders, two senior U.s. Officers assisted by the staff drawn from either through NATO. A Strategic Commanders come responsible to the Military Committee for the overa lot counsel & conduct of all Alliance military matters in their areas of command. Prior to 2003 the Strategic Commanders were the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and a Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) but a todays arrangement is to separate command responsibility between Allied Command Transformation (ACT), responsible transformation & step by step instruction of NATO forces, & Allied Command Operations, responsible for NATO operations globe wide.

A commander of Allied Command Operations retained a title "Supreme Allied Commander Europe", & is depending in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe placed at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons. This is astir Lxxx kilometre (L miles) out of NATO's political headquarters. Allied Command Transformation (Work) is depending within the previous Allied Command Atlantic headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

NATO operates the fleet of E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne radar aircraft.

History

March 17, 1948: The Benelux countries, France, and a United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.

April 4, 1949: North Atlantic Treaty is check in Wash., DC.

May 14, 1955: Warsaw Pact treaty is signed in Warsaw by the Soviet Union and its satellite states as a formal response to NATO. Two organisations come opposing sides in the Cold War. Fallowing a fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the Warsaw Pact disintegrates.

1966: Charles de Gaulle removes French armed forces from NATO's integrated military command to pursue its have nuclear defence programme. Everthing non-French NATO troops come forced to leave France. This precipitates a relocation of the NATO Headquarters from either Paris, France to Brussels, Belgium by October 16, 1967. When a political headquarters come located in Brussels a armed forces headquarters, a Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), are placed good south of Brussels, in the town of Mons.

July 1, 1968: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened for signature. NATO argued its nuclear weapons sharing arrangements did not breach a accord when U.S. forces controlled a weapons until a guide is manufactured to return war, at which point the pact would there is no elongated become controlling. Pack states knew of the NATO nuclear sharing arrangements at that period, & it were non challenged.

May 30, 1978 NATO countries define two complementary aims of the Alliance, to maintain security & pursue détente. This is supposed to mean matching defences at a level rendered necessary per Warsaw Pact's offensive capabilities without spurring the farther arms race.

December 12, 1979 In light of the build-higher of Warsaw Pact nuclear capabilities in Europe, ministers approved a deployment of U.s.a. Cruise and Pershing II theatre nuclear weapons in Europe. A fresh payload come likewise intended to strengthen a american negotiating position inside regard to nuclear disarming.

May 30, 1982: Spain joins the alliance.

1983-84: Responding to the stationing of Warsaw Pact SS-20 medium-range missiles in Europe, NATO deploys modern Pershing II missiles a cappella to email Moscow in minutes. This action leads to bitterly peace movement protests throughout Western Europe.

May 1984: A NATO manoeuvre codenamed Able Archer, which simulates the NATO response to a Soviet nuclear attack, induces panic in the Kremlin. Soviet leader Yuri Andropov becomes concerned that U.S. President Ronald Reagan intends to launch a rattling first strike, and site Soviet nuclear forces at fully readiness. Lone fallowing a collapse of the Soviet Union does it get clear that United states of america intelligence got mistaken really Soviet nervousness for propaganda efforts.

October 3, 1990: With a reunification of Germany, the previous East Germany becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. This experienced been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year. To locate Soviet approval of united Germany odd around NATO, these are agreed that there is there is no recently foreign military bases in the east, & that nuclear weapons may non exist as for good stationed there.

March 31, 1991: The Warsaw Pact comes to an prevent. These are officially dissolved in July 1, 1991. A Soviet Union collapses inside December of the equivalent season.

February 8, 1994: NATO takes its 1st action, shooting down 2 Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the UN no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO airstrikes a below month support bring a war in Bosnia to an end, ensuant in the Dayton Agreement.

July 8, 1997: Three previous communist countries, Hungary, a Czech Republic, & Poland, come invited to joined NATO. It jowithin in 1999.

March 24, 1999: NATO sees its number one broad-shell military engagement in the Kosovo War, where it salary an Eleven-week bombing campaign against what was so a Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, aimed at preventing the alleged ethnic cleansing of Albanians. It endways June 11, 1999, when Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milošević agrees to NATO's demands. These are late shown that, although a Yugoslav army was incapacitated, far less of its devices was destroyed than NATO got calculated.

April 1999: At the Washington summit, Germany proposes that NATO adopt a no-first-use nuclear strategy; the proposal is rejected.

September 12, 2001: NATO provisionally invokes, for a first time inside its history, the collective security clause of its charter. Article Five states that any attack in a member state is considered an attack against the entire alliance. This comes around response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack against the United States.

October 5, 2001: NATO confirms a invocation of Article Five, with determined that the attacks of 11 September were eligible under the terms of the N Atlantic Treaty. [http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm]

November 21, 2002: During a Prague summit, seven countries come invited to run talks sequentially to join a Alliance: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. A invited countries join NATO in March 29, 2004. Farther countries express a wish to join a alliance, including Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, and Croatia. A summit too launches a NATO Response Force (NRF).

February 10, 2003: NATO faces a crisis while France and Belgium veto a procedure of silent approval on the timing of hard measures for Turkey in case of a imaginable war using Iraq. Germany does not apply its best to break a procedure however says it supports a veto.

April 16, 2003: NATO agrees to take command inside August of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. A guide comes at a asking of Germany and the Netherlands, a two nations leading ISAF at the period of the agreement. Entirely Xix NATO ambassadors approve it nemine contradicente. A handover of control to NATO requires place in August 11, and marked a foremost period around NATO's history that it take control of a mission outside the in the north Atlantic metropolitan area. Canada had originally been slated to take above ISAF by itself on it date.

June 19, 2003: the major restructuring of a NATO military commands begins when the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic was abolished & a freshly command, Allied Command Transformation, was constituted within Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

March 29, 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO.

Secretaries General of NATO