NATO - wikipedia NATO This article is about the military alliance. For other uses, see NATO ( disambiguation ). Coordinates : 50 ° 52 ′ 34 '' N 4 ° 25 ′ 19 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 50.87611 ° N 4.42194 ° E ﻿ / 50.87611 ; 4.42194 North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord Logo Member states of NATO Abbreviation NATO, OTAN Motto Animus in consulendo liber ( Latin ) Flag Formation 4 April 1949 ; 68 years ago ( 1949 - 04 - 04 ) Type Military alliance Headquarters Brussels, Belgium Membership 29 states Albania Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States Official language English French Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Chairman of the NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel, Czech Land Forces Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Curtis Scaparrotti, USA Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Général Denis Mercier, French Air Force Expenses ( 2016 ) $892 billion Website nato.int The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO / ˈneɪtoʊ / ; French : Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord ; OTAN ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European states based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949. NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Three NATO members ( the United States, France and the United Kingdom ) are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear - weapon states. NATO Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium. NATO is an alliance that consists of 29 independent member countries across North America and Europe. An additional 21 countries participate in NATO 's Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70 % of the global total. Members ' defense spending is supposed to amount to at least 2 % of GDP. NATO was little more than a political association until the Korean War galvanized the organization 's member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two US Supreme Commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, that formed in 1955. Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defense against a prospective Soviet invasion -- doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO 's military structure in 1966 for 30 years. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany in 1989, the organization became involved in the breakup of Yugoslavia, and conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999. Politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty, requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks, after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO - led ISAF. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq, assisting in counter-piracy operations and in 2011 enforcing a no - fly zone over Libya in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. The less potent Article 4, which merely invokes consultation among NATO members, has been invoked five times : by Turkey in 2003 over the Iraq War ; twice in 2012 by Turkey over the Syrian Civil War, after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F - 4 reconnaissance jet, and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria ; in 2014 by Poland, following the Russian intervention in Crimea ; and again by Turkey in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity. Since its founding, the admission of new member states has brought the alliance from the original 12 countries to 29. The most recent member state to be added to NATO is Montenegro on 5 June 2017. NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Macedonia as aspiring members. Contents 1 History 1.1 Beginnings 1.2 Cold War 1.3 French withdrawal 1.4 Détente and escalation 1.5 After the Cold War 1.6 Enlargement and reform 2 Military operations 2.1 Early operations 2.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina intervention 2.3 Kosovo intervention 2.4 War in Afghanistan 2.5 Iraq training mission 2.6 Gulf of Aden anti-piracy 2.7 Libya intervention 3 Participating countries 3.1 Members 3.2 Enlargement 3.3 Partnerships 4 Structures 4.1 NATO Council 4.2 NATO Parliamentary Assembly 4.3 Military structures 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External links History Beginnings The North Atlantic Treaty was signed by President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 and was ratified by the United States in August 1949. The Treaty of Brussels was a mutual defence treaty against the Soviet threat at the start of the Cold War. It was signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom. It was the precursor to NATO. The Soviet threat became immediate with the Berlin Blockade in 1948, leading to the creation of the Western European Union 's Defence Organization in September 1948. However, the parties were too weak militarily to counter the military power of the USSR. In addition the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état by the Communists had overthrown a democratic government and British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin reiterated that the best way to prevent another Czechoslovakia was to evolve a joint Western military strategy. He got a receptive hearing in the United States, especially considering American anxiety over Italy ( and the Italian Communist Party ). In 1948, European leaders met with U.S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, under U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall 's orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed by U.S. President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C. on 4 April 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization 's goal was `` to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down ''. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, anti-membership riot in March 1949. The creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans - Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an armed attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. Consequently, they agreed that, if an armed attack occurred, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self - defence, would assist the member being attacked, taking such action as it deemed necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor. Although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which clearly states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily. The treaty was later clarified to include both the member 's territory and their `` vessels, forces or aircraft '' above the Tropic of Cancer, including some overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, which in many cases meant European countries adopting US practices. The roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements ( STANAG ) codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved. Hence, the 7.62 × 51mm NATO rifle cartridge was introduced in the 1950s as a standard firearm cartridge among many NATO countries. Fabrique Nationale de Herstal 's FAL, which used the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge, was adopted by 75 countries, including many outside of NATO. Also, aircraft marshalling signals were standardized, so that any NATO aircraft could land at any NATO base. Other standards such as the NATO phonetic alphabet have made their way beyond NATO into civilian use. Cold War Main article : Cold War The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 was crucial for NATO as it raised the apparent threat of all Communist countries working together, and forced the alliance to develop concrete military plans. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE ) was formed to direct forces in Europe, and began work under Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower in January 1951. In September 1950, the NATO Military Committee called for an ambitious buildup of conventional forces to meet the Soviets, subsequently reaffirming this position at the February 1952 meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Lisbon. The Lisbon conference, seeking to provide the forces necessary for NATO 's Long - Term Defence Plan, called for an expansion to ninety - six divisions. However this requirement was dropped the following year to roughly thirty - five divisions with heavier use to be made of nuclear weapons. At this time, NATO could call on about fifteen ready divisions in Central Europe, and another ten in Italy and Scandinavia. Also at Lisbon, the post of Secretary General of NATO as the organization 's chief civilian was created, and Lord Ismay was eventually appointed to the post. The German Bundeswehr provided the largest element of the allied land forces guarding the frontier in Central Europe. In September 1952, the first major NATO maritime exercises began ; Exercise Mainbrace brought together 200 ships and over 50,000 personnel to practice the defence of Denmark and Norway. Other major exercises that followed included Exercise Grand Slam and Exercise Longstep, naval and amphibious exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, Italic Weld, a combined air - naval - ground exercise in northern Italy, Grand Repulse, involving the British Army on the Rhine ( BAOR ), the Netherlands Corps and Allied Air Forces Central Europe ( AAFCE ), Monte Carlo, a simulated atomic air - ground exercise involving the Central Army Group, and Weldfast, a combined amphibious landing exercise in the Mediterranean Sea involving American, British, Greek, Italian and Turkish naval forces. Greece and Turkey also joined the alliance in 1952, forcing a series of controversial negotiations, in which the United States and Britain were the primary disputants, over how to bring the two countries into the military command structure. While this overt military preparation was going on, covert stay - behind arrangements initially made by the Western European Union to continue resistance after a successful Soviet invasion, including Operation Gladio, were transferred to NATO control. Ultimately unofficial bonds began to grow between NATO 's armed forces, such as the NATO Tiger Association and competitions such as the Canadian Army Trophy for tank gunnery. A 1952 U.S. postage stamp commemorating the third anniversary of NATO. Stamps honoring the organization were issued by many member countries. In 1954, the Soviet Union suggested that it should join NATO to preserve peace in Europe. The NATO countries, fearing that the Soviet Union 's motive was to weaken the alliance, ultimately rejected this proposal. On 17 December 1954, the North Atlantic Council approved MC 48, a key document in the evolution of NATO nuclear thought. MC 48 emphasized that NATO would have to use atomic weapons from the outset of a war with the Soviet Union whether or not the Soviets chose to use them first. This gave SACEUR the same prerogatives for automatic use of nuclear weapons as existed for the commander - in - chief of the US Strategic Air Command. The incorporation of West Germany into the organization on 9 May 1955 was described as `` a decisive turning point in the history of our continent '' by Halvard Lange, Foreign Affairs Minister of Norway at the time. A major reason for Germany 's entry into the alliance was that without German manpower, it would have been impossible to field enough conventional forces to resist a Soviet invasion. One of its immediate results was the creation of the Warsaw Pact, which was signed on 14 May 1955 by the Soviet Union, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and East Germany, as a formal response to this event, thereby delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War. Three major exercises were held concurrently in the northern autumn of 1957. Operation Counter Punch, Operation Strikeback, and Operation Deep Water were the most ambitious military undertaking for the alliance to date, involving more than 250,000 men, 300 ships, and 1,500 aircraft operating from Norway to Turkey. French withdrawal Map of the NATO air bases in France before Charles de Gaulle 's 1966 withdrawal from NATO military integrated command NATO 's unity was breached early in its history with a crisis occurring during Charles de Gaulle 's presidency of France. De Gaulle protested against the USA 's strong role in the organization and what he perceived as a special relationship between it and the United Kingdom. In a memorandum sent to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on 17 September 1958, he argued for the creation of a tripartite directorate that would put France on an equal footing with the US and the UK. Considering the response to be unsatisfactory, de Gaulle began constructing an independent defence force for his country. He wanted to give France, in the event of an East German incursion into West Germany, the option of coming to a separate peace with the Eastern bloc instead of being drawn into a larger NATO -- Warsaw Pact war. In February 1959, France withdrew its Mediterranean Fleet from NATO command, and later banned the stationing of foreign nuclear weapons on French soil. This caused the United States to transfer two hundred military aircraft out of France and return control of the air force bases that it had operated in France since 1950 to the French by 1967. Though France showed solidarity with the rest of NATO during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, de Gaulle continued his pursuit of an independent defence by removing France 's Atlantic and Channel fleets from NATO command. In 1966, all French armed forces were removed from NATO 's integrated military command, and all non-French NATO troops were asked to leave France. US Secretary of State Dean Rusk was later quoted as asking de Gaulle whether his order included `` the bodies of American soldiers in France 's cemeteries ? '' This withdrawal forced the relocation of SHAPE from Rocquencourt, near Paris, to Casteau, north of Mons, Belgium, by 16 October 1967. France remained a member of the alliance, and committed to the defence of Europe from possible Warsaw Pact attack with its own forces stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany throughout the Cold War. A series of secret accords between U.S. and French officials, the Lemnitzer -- Ailleret Agreements, detailed how French forces would dovetail back into NATO 's command structure should East - West hostilities break out. France announced their return to full participation at the 2009 Strasbourg -- Kehl summit. Détente and escalation Main article : Détente Détente led to many high level meetings between leaders from both NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Wim van Eekelen, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, greeting American soldiers arriving as they are deployed to NATO bases ( 1987 ). During most of the Cold War, NATO 's watch against the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact did not actually lead to direct military action. On 1 July 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opened for signature : NATO argued that its nuclear sharing arrangements did not breach the treaty as US forces controlled the weapons until a decision was made to go to war, at which point the treaty would no longer be controlling. Few states knew of the NATO nuclear sharing arrangements at that time, and they were not challenged. In May 1978, NATO countries officially defined two complementary aims of the Alliance, to maintain security and pursue détente. This was supposed to mean matching defences at the level rendered necessary by the Warsaw Pact 's offensive capabilities without spurring a further arms race. During the Cold War, most of Europe was divided between two alliances. Members of NATO are shown in blue, with members of the Warsaw Pact in red, unaffiliated countries are in grey. Yugoslavia, although communist, had left the Soviet sphere in 1948, while Albania was only a Warsaw Pact member until 1968. On 12 December 1979, in light of a build - up of Warsaw Pact nuclear capabilities in Europe, ministers approved the deployment of US GLCM cruise missiles and Pershing II theatre nuclear weapons in Europe. The new warheads were also meant to strengthen the western negotiating position regarding nuclear disarmament. This policy was called the Dual Track policy. Similarly, in 1983 -- 84, responding to the stationing of Warsaw Pact SS - 20 medium - range missiles in Europe, NATO deployed modern Pershing II missiles tasked to hit military targets such as tank formations in the event of war. This action led to peace movement protests throughout Western Europe, and support for the deployment wavered as many doubted whether the push for deployment could be sustained. The membership of the organization at this time remained largely static. In 1974, as a consequence of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Greece withdrew its forces from NATO 's military command structure but, with Turkish cooperation, were readmitted in 1980. The Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina did not result in NATO involvement because article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that collective self - defence is only applicable to attacks on member state territories north of the Tropic of Cancer. On 30 May 1982, NATO gained a new member when the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance ; Spain 's membership was confirmed by referendum in 1986. At the peak of the Cold War, 16 member nations maintained an approximate strength of 5,252,800 active military, including as many as 435,000 forward deployed US forces, under a command structure that reached a peak of 78 headquarters, organized into four echelons. After the Cold War Main article : NATO - Russia relations The Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991 removed the de facto main adversary of NATO and caused a strategic re-evaluation of NATO 's purpose, nature, tasks, and their focus on the continent of Europe. This shift started with the 1990 signing in Paris of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe between NATO and the Soviet Union, which mandated specific military reductions across the continent that continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. At that time, European countries accounted for 34 percent of NATO 's military spending ; by 2012, this had fallen to 21 percent. NATO also began a gradual expansion to include newly autonomous Central and Eastern European nations, and extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns. Reforms made under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Warsaw Pact. The first post-Cold War expansion of NATO came with German reunification on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. This had been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year. To secure Soviet approval of a united Germany remaining in NATO, it was agreed that foreign troops and nuclear weapons would not be stationed in the east, and there are diverging views on whether negotiators gave commitments regarding further NATO expansion east. Jack Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union during its final years, said that the West gave a `` clear commitment '' not to expand, and declassified documents indicate that Soviet negotiators were given the impression that NATO membership was off the table for countries such as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, or Poland. Hans - Dietrich Genscher, the West German foreign minister at that time, said in a conversation with Eduard Shevardnadze that `` ( f ) or us, however, one thing is certain : NATO will not expand to the east. '' In 1996, Gorbachev wrote in his Memoirs, that `` during the negotiations on the unification of Germany they gave assurances that NATO would not extend its zone of operation to the east, '' and repeated this view in an interview in 2008. According to Robert Zoellick, a State Department official involved in the Two Plus Four negotiating process, this appears to be a misperception, and no formal commitment regarding enlargement was made. As part of post-Cold War restructuring, NATO 's military structure was cut back and reorganized, with new forces such as the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps established. The changes brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union on the military balance in Europe were recognized in the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which was signed in 1999. The policies of French President Nicolas Sarkozy resulted in a major reform of France 's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure, while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent. Enlargement and reform Further information : Enlargement of NATO The NATO flag being raised in a ceremony marking Croatia 's joining of the alliance in 2009. Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, like the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro - Atlantic Partnership Council. In 1998, the NATO - Russia Permanent Joint Council was established. On 8 July 1997, three former communist countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited to join NATO, which each did in 1999. Membership went on expanding with the accession of seven more Central and Eastern European countries to NATO : Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They were first invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague summit, and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit. At that time the decision was criticised in the US by many military, political and academic leaders as a `` a policy error of historic proportions. '' According to George F. Kennan, an American diplomat and an advocate of the containment policy, this decision `` may be expected to have an adverse effect on the development of Russian democracy ; to restore the atmosphere of the cold war to East - West relations, to impel Russian foreign policy in directions decidedly not to our liking. '' New NATO structures were also formed while old ones were abolished. In 1997, NATO reached agreement on a significant downsizing of its command structure from 65 headquarters to just 20. The NATO Response Force ( NRF ) was launched at the 2002 Prague summit on 21 November, the first summit in a former Comecon country. On 19 June 2003, a further restructuring of the NATO military commands began as the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic were abolished and a new command, Allied Command Transformation ( ACT ), was established in Norfolk, United States, and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE ) became the Headquarters of Allied Command Operations ( ACO ). ACT is responsible for driving transformation ( future capabilities ) in NATO, whilst ACO is responsible for current operations. In March 2004, NATO 's Baltic Air Policing began, which supported the sovereignty of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia by providing jet fighters to react to any unwanted aerial intrusions. Eight multinational jet fighters are based in Lithuania, the number of which was increased from four in 2014. Also at the 2004 Istanbul summit, NATO launched the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative with four Persian Gulf nations. Meetings between the government of Viktor Yushchenko and NATO leaders led to the Intensified Dialogue programme. The 2006 Riga summit was held in Riga, Latvia, and highlighted the issue of energy security. It was the first NATO summit to be held in a country that had been part of the Soviet Union. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed to the accession of Croatia and Albania and both countries joined NATO in April 2009. Ukraine and Georgia were also told that they could eventually become members. The issue of Georgian and Ukrainian membership in NATO prompted harsh criticism from Russia, as did NATO plans for a missile defence system. Studies for this system began in 2002, with negotiations centered on anti-ballistic missiles being stationed in Poland and the Czech Republic. Though NATO leaders gave assurances that the system was not targeting Russia, both presidents Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev criticized it as a threat. In 2009, US President Barack Obama proposed using the ship - based Aegis Combat System, though this plan still includes stations being built in Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Romania, and Poland. NATO will also maintain the `` status quo '' in its nuclear deterrent in Europe by upgrading the targeting capabilities of the `` tactical '' B61 nuclear bombs stationed there and deploying them on the stealthier Lockheed Martin F - 35 Lightning II. Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO committed to forming a new `` spearhead '' force of 5,000 troops at bases in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. At the 2014 Wales summit, the leaders of NATO 's member states reaffirmed their pledge to spend the equivalent of at least 2 % of their gross domestic products on defense. In 2015, five of its 28 members met that goal. On 15 June 2016, NATO officially recognized cyberwarfare as an operational domain of war, just like land, sea and aerial warfare. This means that any cyber attack on NATO members can trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Montenegro became the 29th and newest member of NATO on 5 June 2017, amid strong objections from Russia. Military operations Early operations No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later a quick - reaction force was deployed to the area. Bosnia and Herzegovina intervention Main article : NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina NATO planes engaged in aerial bombardments during Operation Deliberate Force after the Srebrenica massacre. The Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, ordering a no - fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina, which NATO began enforcing on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight. From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no - fly zone. On 10 and 11 April 1994, during the Bosnian War, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect the Goražde safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US F - 16 jets acting under NATO direction. This resulted in the taking of 150 U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April. On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces. A two - week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force, began in August 1995 against the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica massacre. NATO air strikes that year helped bring the Yugoslav wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, named IFOR. Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO nations in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into the smaller SFOR, which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto European Union Force Althea. Following the lead of its member nations, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations. Kosovo intervention Main articles : 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and KFOR German KFOR soldiers patrol southern Kosovo in 1999 In an effort to stop Slobodan Milošević 's Serbian - led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO, which started a 78 - day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999. Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force ( Land ), to Albania as the Albania Force ( AFOR ), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo. Though the campaign was criticized for high civilian casualties, including bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Milošević finally accepted the terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War. On 11 June, Milošević further accepted UN resolution 1244, under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR 's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence. In August -- September 2001, the alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest, a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia. As of 1 December 2013, 4,882 KFOR soldiers, representing 31 countries, continue to operate in the area. The US, the UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the U.N. Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval. The US / UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on Yugoslavia, and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management. War in Afghanistan Main articles : International Security Assistance Force and War in Afghanistan The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke its collective defence article for the first time. The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization 's history. The Article says that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour, a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea which is designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, as well as enhancing the security of shipping in general which began on 4 October 2001. The alliance showed unity : On 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ), which includes troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two nations leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO 's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. ISAF General David M. Rodriguez at an Italian change of command in Herat. ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban, al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan, and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country. On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US - led anti-terrorism coalition. Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter / attack aircraft to be moved into the area, to Kandahar, in order to reinforce the alliance 's efforts. During its 2012 Chicago Summit, NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO - led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014. ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow - on training Resolute Support Mission Iraq training mission Main article : NATO Training Mission -- Iraq In August 2004, during the Iraq War, NATO formed the NATO Training Mission -- Iraq, a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US led MNF - I. The NATO Training Mission - Iraq ( NTM - I ) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546. The aim of NTM - I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the nation. NTM - I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of NATO 's North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US - led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual - hatted as the Commander of NTM - I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011. Gulf of Aden anti-piracy Main article : Operation Ocean Shield USS Farragut destroying a Somali pirate skiff in March 2010 Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates, and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. The operation was approved by the North Atlantic Council and involves warships primarily from the United States though vessels from many other nations are also included. Operation Ocean Shield focuses on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider which are distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. Russia, China and South Korea have sent warships to participate in the activities as well. The operation seeks to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and abetting to increase the general level of security in the region. Libya intervention Main article : 2011 military intervention in Libya During the Libyan Civil War, violence between protestors and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing a no - fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards. On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1, and additional ships and submarines from NATO members. They would `` monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries ''. Libyan Army Palmaria howitzers destroyed by the French Air Force near Benghazi in March 2011 On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no - fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition 's forces. NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member nations were participating in combat operations, resulting in a confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany to contribute more, the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict. In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause the demise of NATO. The German foreign ministry pointed to `` a considerable ( German ) contribution to NATO and NATO - led operations '' and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama. While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August. Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs. The following week, the head of the Royal Navy said the country 's operations in the conflict were not sustainable. By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets. A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign. Following a coup d'état attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues. Participating countries Map of NATO affiliations in Europe Map of NATO partnerships globally NATO members Membership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plan Partnership for Peace Mediterranean Dialogue Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Global Partners Albania Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States Bosnia - Herzegovina Macedonia Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia - Herzegovina Georgia Kazakhstan Moldova Serbia Ukraine Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia Finland Georgia Ireland Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Macedonia Malta Moldova Russia Serbia Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Mauritania Morocco Tunisia Bahrain Kuwait Qatar United Arab Emirates Afghanistan Australia Colombia Iraq Japan Mongolia Pakistan New Zealand South Korea Members Main article : Member states of NATO NATO organizes regular summits for leaders of their members states and partnerships. NATO has twenty - nine members, mainly in Europe and North America. Some of these countries also have territory on multiple continents, which can be covered only as far south as the Tropic of Cancer in the Atlantic Ocean, which defines NATO 's `` area of responsibility '' under Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as the Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty. French Algeria was however covered until their independence on 3 July 1962. Twelve of these twenty - nine are original members who joined in 1949, while the other seventeen joined in one of eight enlargement rounds. Few members spend more than two percent of their gross domestic product on defence, with the United States accounting for three quarters of NATO defense spending. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed `` Gaullo - Mitterrandism ''. Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear - armed submarines to the alliance. Enlargement Main article : Enlargement of NATO NATO has added 13 new members since the German reunification and the end of the Cold War. New membership in the alliance has been largely from Central and Eastern Europe, including former members of the Warsaw Pact. Accession to the alliance is governed with individual Membership Action Plans, and requires approval by each current member. NATO currently has two candidate countries that are in the process of joining the alliance : Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia. In NATO official statements, the Republic of Macedonia is always referred to as the `` former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia '', with a footnote stating that `` Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name ''. Though Macedonia completed its requirements for membership at the same time as Croatia and Albania, NATO 's most recent members, its accession was blocked by Greece pending a resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute. In order to support each other in the process, new and potential members in the region formed the Adriatic Charter in 2003. Georgia was also named as an aspiring member, and was promised `` future membership '' during the 2008 summit in Bucharest, though in 2014, US President Barack Obama said the country was not `` currently on a path '' to membership. Russia continues to oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and American negotiators that allowed for a peaceful German reunification. NATO 's expansion efforts are often seen by Moscow leaders as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia, though they have also been criticised in the West. Ukraine 's relationship with NATO and Europe has been politically divisive, and contributed to `` Euromaidan '' protests that saw the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. In March 2014, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk reiterated the government 's stance that Ukraine is not seeking NATO membership. Ukraine 's president subsequently signed a bill dropping his nation 's nonaligned status in order to pursue NATO membership, but signaled that it would hold a referendum before seeking to join. Ukraine is one of eight countries in Eastern Europe with an Individual Partnership Action Plan. IPAPs began in 2002, and are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO. Partnerships Further information : Foreign relations of NATO Partnership for Peace conducts multinational military exercises like Cooperative Archer, which took place in Tblisi in July 2007 with 500 servicemen from four NATO members, eight PfP members, and Jordan, a Mediterranean Dialogue participant. The Partnership for Peace ( PfP ) programme was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO : each country may choose the extent of its participation. Members include all current and former members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Euro - Atlantic Partnership Council ( EAPC ) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all fifty participants. The PfP programme is considered the operational wing of the Euro - Atlantic Partnership. Other third countries also have been contacted for participation in some activities of the PfP framework such as Afghanistan. The European Union ( EU ) signed a comprehensive package of arrangements with NATO under the Berlin Plus agreement on 16 December 2002. With this agreement, the EU was given the possibility to use NATO assets in case it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act -- the so - called `` right of first refusal ''. For example, Article 42 ( 7 ) of the 1982 Treaty of Lisbon specifies that `` If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power ''. The treaty applies globally to specified territories whereas NATO is restricted under its Article 6 to operations north of the Tropic of Cancer. It provides a `` double framework '' for the EU countries that are also linked with the PfP programme. Additionally, NATO cooperates and discusses its activities with numerous other non-NATO members. The Mediterranean Dialogue was established in 1994 to coordinate in a similar way with Israel and countries in North Africa. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was announced in 2004 as a dialog forum for the Middle East along the same lines as the Mediterranean Dialogue. The four participants are also linked through the Gulf Cooperation Council. Political dialogue with Japan began in 1990, and since then, the Alliance has gradually increased its contact with countries that do not form part of any of these cooperation initiatives. In 1998, NATO established a set of general guidelines that do not allow for a formal institutionalisation of relations, but reflect the Allies ' desire to increase cooperation. Following extensive debate, the term `` Contact Countries '' was agreed by the Allies in 2000. By 2012, the Alliance had broadened this group, which meets to discuss issues such as counter-piracy and technology exchange, under the names `` partners across the globe '' or `` global partners ''. Australia and New Zealand, both contact countries, are also members of the AUSCANNZUKUS strategic alliance, and similar regional or bilateral agreements between contact countries and NATO members also aid cooperation. Colombia is the NATO 's latest partner and Colombia has access to the full range of cooperative activities NATO offers to partners ; Colombia became the first and only Latin American country to cooperate with NATO. Structures Main article : Structure of NATO Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg ( right ) and his predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen ( left ), talk with members of the Norwegian army 's Telemark Battalion in Oslo. The main headquarters of NATO is located on Boulevard Léopold III / Leopold III - laan, B - 1110 Brussels, which is in Haren, part of the City of Brussels municipality. A new € 750 million headquarters building began construction in 2010, was completed in summer 2016, and was dedicated on 25 May 2017. The 250,000 square metres ( 2,700,000 sq ft ) complex was designed by Jo Palma and home to a staff of 3800. Problems in the original building stemmed from its hurried construction in 1967, when NATO was forced to move its headquarters from Porte Dauphine in Paris, France following the French withdrawal. The staff at the Headquarters is composed of national delegations of member countries and includes civilian and military liaison offices and officers or diplomatic missions and diplomats of partner countries, as well as the International Staff and International Military Staff filled from serving members of the armed forces of member states. Non-governmental citizens ' groups have also grown up in support of NATO, broadly under the banner of the Atlantic Council / Atlantic Treaty Association movement. While the cost of the new headquarters structure was not mentioned on the NATO website 's `` NATO 's new headquarters '' page dated May 23, 2017, Daniel Halper, citing the NATO website 's February 2017 `` New NATO HQ '' page, reported in the May 25, 2017 issue of The Washington Free Beacon that the cost was $1.23 billion. NATO Council Like any alliance, NATO is ultimately governed by its 29 member states. However, the North Atlantic Treaty and other agreements outline how decisions are to be made within NATO. Each of the 29 members sends a delegation or mission to NATO 's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The senior permanent member of each delegation is known as the Permanent Representative and is generally a senior civil servant or an experienced ambassador ( and holding that diplomatic rank ). Several countries have diplomatic missions to NATO through embassies in Belgium. Together, the Permanent Members form the North Atlantic Council ( NAC ), a body which meets together at least once a week and has effective governance authority and powers of decision in NATO. From time to time the Council also meets at higher level meetings involving foreign ministers, defence ministers or heads of state or government ( HOSG ) and it is at these meetings that major decisions regarding NATO 's policies are generally taken. However, it is worth noting that the Council has the same authority and powers of decision - making, and its decisions have the same status and validity, at whatever level it meets. France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States are together referred to as the Quint, which is an informal discussion group within NATO. NATO summits also form a further venue for decisions on complex issues, such as enlargement. The meetings of the North Atlantic Council are chaired by the Secretary General of NATO and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and common accord. There is no voting or decision by majority. Each nation represented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions. List of Secretaries General # Name Country Duration 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 5 Joseph Luns Netherlands 1 October 1971 -- 25 June 1984 6 Lord Carrington United Kingdom 25 June 1984 -- 1 July 1988 7 Manfred Wörner Germany 1 July 1988 -- 13 August 1994 -- Sergio Balanzino Italy 13 August 1994 -- 17 October 1994 8 Willy Claes Belgium 17 October 1994 -- 20 October 1995 -- Sergio Balanzino Italy 20 October 1995 -- 5 December 1995 9 Javier Solana Spain 5 December 1995 -- 6 October 1999 10 Lord Robertson United Kingdom 14 October 1999 -- 17 December 2003 -- Alessandro Minuto - Rizzo Italy 17 December 2003 -- 1 January 2004 11 Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Netherlands 1 January 2004 -- 1 August 2009 12 Anders Fogh Rasmussen Denmark 1 August 2009 -- 30 September 2014 13 Jens Stoltenberg Norway 1 October 2014 -- present List of Deputy Secretaries General # Name Country Duration Jonkheer van Vredenburch Netherlands 1952 -- 1956 Baron Adolph Bentinck Netherlands 1956 -- 1958 Alberico Casardi Italy 1958 -- 1962 Guido Colonna di Paliano Italy 1962 -- 1964 5 James A. Roberts Canada 1964 -- 1968 6 Osman Olcay Turkey 1969 -- 1971 7 Paolo Pansa Cedronio Italy 1971 -- 1978 8 Rinaldo Petrignani Italy 1978 -- 1981 9 Eric da Rin Italy 1981 -- 1985 10 Marcello Guidi Italy 1985 -- 1989 11 Amedeo de Franchis Italy 1989 -- 1994 12 Sergio Balanzino Italy 1994 -- 2001 13 Alessandro Minuto Rizzo Italy 2001 -- 2007 14 Claudio Bisogniero Italy 2007 -- 2012 15 Alexander Vershbow United States 2012 -- 2016 16 Rose Gottemoeller United States 2016 -- present Acting Secretary General NATO Parliamentary Assembly Main article : NATO Parliamentary Assembly The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, an intergovernmental organization of NATO and associate countries ' elected representatives, meets in London prior to the start of the 2014 Newport summit. The body that sets broad strategic goals for NATO is the NATO Parliamentary Assembly ( NATO - PA ) which meets at the Annual Session, and one other time during the year, and is the organ that directly interacts with the parliamentary structures of the national governments of the member states which appoint Permanent Members, or ambassadors to NATO. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as thirteen associate members. Karl A. Lamers, German Deputy Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Bundestag and a member of the Christian Democratic Union, became president of the assembly in 2010. It is however officially a different structure from NATO, and has as aim to join together deputies of NATO countries in order to discuss security policies on the NATO Council. The Assembly is the political integration body of NATO that generates political policy agenda setting for the NATO Council via reports of its five committees : Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security Defence and Security Committee Economics and Security Committee Political Committee Science and Technology Committee These reports provide impetus and direction as agreed upon by the national governments of the member states through their own national political processes and influencers to the NATO administrative and executive organizational entities. Military structures Petr Pavel ( right ), of the Czech Republic, has been Chairman of the NATO Military Committee since 2015 NATO 's military operations are directed by the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and split into two Strategic Commands commanded by a senior US officer and ( currently ) a senior French officer assisted by a staff drawn from across NATO. The Strategic Commanders are responsible to the Military Committee for the overall direction and conduct of all Alliance military matters within their areas of command. Each country 's delegation includes a Military Representative, a senior officer from each country 's armed forces, supported by the International Military Staff. Together the Military Representatives form the Military Committee, a body responsible for recommending to NATO 's political authorities those measures considered necessary for the common defence of the NATO area. Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the NATO Strategic Commanders, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee is Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic, since 2015. Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation 's armed forces. Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country 's 1966 decision to remove itself from the NATO Military Command Structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The operational work of the Committee is supported by the International Military Staff. NATO flag raising at opening of Exercise Steadfast Jazz at Drawsko Pomorskie in Poland in November 2013. The structure of NATO evolved throughout the Cold War and its aftermath. An integrated military structure for NATO was first established in 1950 as it became clear that NATO would need to enhance its defences for the longer term against a potential Soviet attack. In April 1951, Allied Command Europe and its headquarters ( SHAPE ) were established ; later, four subordinate headquarters were added in Northern and Central Europe, the Southern Region, and the Mediterranean. From the 1950s to 2003, the Strategic Commanders were the Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR ) and the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic ( SACLANT ). The current arrangement is to separate responsibility between Allied Command Transformation ( ACT ), responsible for transformation and training of NATO forces, and Allied Command Operations ( ACO ), responsible for NATO operations worldwide. Starting in late 2003 NATO has restructured how it commands and deploys its troops by creating several NATO Rapid Deployable Corps, including Eurocorps, I. German / Dutch Corps, Multinational Corps Northeast, and NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps among others, as well as naval High Readiness Forces ( HRFs ), which all report to Allied Command Operations. In early 2015, in the wake of the War in Donbass, meetings of NATO ministers decided that Multinational Corps Northeast would be augmented so as to develop greater capabilities, to, if thought necessary, prepare to defend the Baltic States, and that a new Multinational Division Southeast would be established in Romania. Six NATO Force Integration Units would also be established to coordinate preparations for defence of new Eastern members of NATO. Multinational Division Southeast was activated on 1 December 2015. Headquarters Multinational Division South -- East ( HQ MND - SE ) is a North Atlantic Council ( NAC ) activated NATO military body under operational command ( OPCOM ) of Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR ) which may be employed and deployed in peacetime, crisis and operations by NATO on the authority of the appropriate NATO Military Authorities by means of an exercise or operational tasking issued in accordance with the Command and Control Technical Arrangement ( C2 TA ) and standard NATO procedures. During August 2016, it was announced that 650 soldiers of the British Army would be deployed on an enduring basis in Eastern Europe, mainly in Estonia with some also being deployed to Poland. This British deployment forms part of a four - battle group ( four - battalion ) deployment by various allies, NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, one each spread from Poland ( the Poland - deployed battle group mostly led by the U.S. ) to Estonia. See also NATO portal Islamic Military Alliance Ranks and insignia of NATO References Jump up ^ `` The Official motto of NATO ''. NATO. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries ( 2009 - 2016 ) '' ( PDF ). NATO Headquarters, Belgium. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` English and French shall be the official languages for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization. '', Final Communiqué following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 17 September 1949. `` (... ) the English and French texts ( of the Treaty ) are equally authentic (... ) '' The North Atlantic Treaty, Article 14 Jump up ^ `` What is NATO ? ''. NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017. Jump up ^ Cook, Lorne ( 25 May 2017 ). `` NATO : The World 's Largest Military Alliance Explained ''. www.MilitaryTimes.com. The Associated Press, US. Retrieved 26 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database ''. Milexdata.sipri.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ Erlanger, Steven ( 26 March 2014 ). `` Europe Begins to Rethink Cuts to Military Spending ''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014. Last year, only a handful of NATO countries met the target, according to NATO figures, including the United States, at 4.1 percent, and Britain, at 2.4 percent. Jump up ^ `` Invocation of Article 5 confirmed ''. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 3 October 2001. Retrieved 29 January 2013. Jump up ^ `` Counter-piracy operations ''. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Retrieved 27 May 2011. Jump up ^ Croft, Adrian ( 3 October 2012 ). `` NATO demands halt to Syria aggression against Turkey ''. Reuters. Retrieved 3 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` Statement by the North Atlantic Council following meeting under article 4 of the Washington Treaty ''. NATO Newsroom. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014. Jump up ^ Ford, Dana ( 26 July 2015 ). `` Turkey calls for rare NATO talks after attacks along Syrian border ''. www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 26 July 2015. Jump up ^ Isby & Kamps Jr. 1985, p. 13. Jump up ^ Pedaliu 2003, p. 97. Jump up ^ Behrman 2007, p. 157. Jump up ^ `` A short history of NATO ''. NATO. Retrieved 26 March 2017. Jump up ^ Reynolds 1994, p. 13. Jump up ^ Straus, Ira ( June 2005 ). `` Atlanticism as the Core 20th Century US Strategy for Internationalism '' ( PDF ). Streit Council. Annual Meeting of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. Retrieved 10 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of Greece and Turkey ''. NATO. 4 April 1949. Retrieved 17 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` PROOF AND INSPECTION COMMITTEE NATO 7.62 MM AMMUNITION ''. NATO. Jump up ^ Willbanks 2004, pp. 129 -- 130. Jump up ^ `` NATO Declassified -- NATO Alphabet ''. NATO. Jump up ^ Isby & Kamps Jr. 1985, pp. 13 -- 14. ^ Jump up to : Ismay, Hastings ( 4 September 2001 ). `` NATO the first five years 1949 -- 1954 ''. NATO. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Jump up ^ Osgood 1962, p. 76. Jump up ^ Park 1986, p. 28. Jump up ^ `` NATO : The Man with the Oilcan ''. Time. 24 March 1952. Retrieved 17 January 2012. Jump up ^ Baldwin, Hanson ( 28 September 1952 ). `` Navies Meet the Test in Operation Mainbrace ''. New York Times : E7. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Jump up ^ Ismay, Hastings ( 17 September 2001 ). `` NATO the First 5 Years ''. NATO the first five years 1949 -- 1954. NATO. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Organisation ''. NATO Tiger Association. 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Historical Overview ''. Canadian Army Trophy. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Fast facts about NATO ''. CBC News. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2011. Jump up ^ `` West Germany accepted into Nato ''. BBC News. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012. Jump up ^ Isby & Kamps Jr. 1985, p. 15. Jump up ^ `` Emergency Call ''. Time. 30 September 1957. Retrieved 27 September 2008. Jump up ^ Garret Martin, `` The 1967 withdrawal from NATO -- a cornerstone of de Gaulle 's grand strategy ? '' Journal of Transatlantic Studies ( 2011 ) 9 # 3 pp 232 -- 243. doi : 10.1080 / 14794012.2011. 593819 Jump up ^ Wenger, Nuenlist & Locher 2007, pp. 67 -- 69. Jump up ^ Dowd, Alan ( 22 September 2009 ). `` Not Enough NATO In Afghanistan ''. CBS News. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ National Defense University 1997, p. 50. Jump up ^ van der Eyden 2003, pp. 104 -- 106. Jump up ^ Schoenbaum 1988, p. 421. ^ Jump up to : Le Blévennec, François ( 25 October 2011 ). `` The Big Move ''. NATO Review. Retrieved 19 December 2011. ^ Jump up to : Cody, Edward ( 12 March 2009 ). `` After 43 Years, France to Rejoin NATO as Full Member ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 December 2011. Jump up ^ `` Defence Planning Committee ( DPC ) ( Archived ) ''. NATO. November 11, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2016. Jump up ^ Garthoff 1994, pp. 659 -- 661. Jump up ^ Njølstad 2004, pp. 280 -- 282. Jump up ^ Njølstad 2004, pp. 278 -- 279. Jump up ^ Kaplan 2004, pp. 89 -- 91. Jump up ^ Weinrod, W. Bruce ; Barry, Charles L. ( September 2010 ). `` NATO Command Structure : Considerations for the Future '' ( PDF ). Center for Technology and National Security Policy. National Defense University. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ Harding, Luke ( 14 July 2007 ). `` Kremlin tears up arms pact with Nato ''. The Observer. Retrieved 1 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` The future of NATO : Bad timing ''. The Economist. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012. Jump up ^ Sarotte, Mary Elise ( September -- October 2014 ). `` A Broken Promise ? ''. Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 28 August 2014. ^ Jump up to : Klussmann, Uwe ; Schepp, Matthias ; Wiegrefe, Klaus ( 26 November 2009 ). `` NATO 's Eastward Expansion : Did the West Break Its Promise to Moscow ? ''. Spiegel Online. Retrieved 7 April 2014. Jump up ^ Gorbachev 1996, p. 675. Jump up ^ Blomfield A and Smith M ( 6 May 2009 ). `` Gorbachev : US could start new Cold War ''. Paris : The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2009. Jump up ^ Zoellick, Robert B. ( 22 September 2000 ). `` The Lessons of German Unification ''. The National Interest. ^ Jump up to : Stratton, Allegra ( 17 June 2008 ). `` Sarkozy military plan unveiled ''. The Guardian. UK. Jump up ^ ( NATO Expansion Would Be an Epic ' Fateful Error ' http://articles.latimes.com/1997/jul/07/local/me-10464 ), Los Angeles Times, July 07, 1997 Jump up ^ NATO Expansion Would Be a Fateful Blunder, New York Times, Feb. 5, 1997 Jump up ^ Albright, Madeleine ( 16 December 1997 ). `` Statement by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright During the North Atlantic Council Ministerial Meeting ''. NATO. Retrieved 4 September 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Allied Command Operations ( ACO ) ''. NATO. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ Sytas, Andrius ( 29 March 2016 ). `` NATO needs to beef up defense of Baltic airspace : top commander ''. Reuters. Retrieved 9 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` NATO elevates Mediterranean Dialogue to a genuine partnership, launches Istanbul Cooperation Initiative ''. NATO Update. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` U.S. wins NATO backing for missile defense shield -- CNN.com ''. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 03. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ Englund, Will ( 23 March 2012 ). `` Medvedev calls missile defense a threat to Russia ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Part of NATO missile defense system goes live in Turkey ''. CNN. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Jump up ^ Norton - Taylor, Richard. `` Nato plans to upgrade nuclear weapons ' expensive and unnecessary '. '' The Guardian, 10 May 2012. Jump up ^ Becker, Markus. `` US Nuclear Weapons Upgrades. '' Der Spiegel, 16 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` Ukraine crisis : Nato bolsters Eastern Europe against Russia ''. BBC News. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` NATO Meets to Approve Strengthening Forces in Eastern Europe ''. Newsweek. Reuters. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015. Jump up ^ Techau, Jan ( September 2, 2015 ). `` The Politics of 2 Percent : NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe ''. Carnegie Europe. Retrieved March 4, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Military Spending by NATO Members ''. The Economist. February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Bendavid, Naftali ( June 22, 2015 ). `` Just Five of 28 NATO Members Meet Defense Spending Goal, Report Says ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Ivana, Kottasova ( July 8, 2016 ). `` These NATO Countries are Not Spending Their Fair Share on Defense ''. CNNMoney. Retrieved March 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Hardy, Catherine ( 2016 - 06 - 15 ). `` Cyberspace is officially a war zone -- NATO ''. Euronews. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Montenegro Officially Joins NATO At Ceremony In Washington ''. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 2017 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ Milic, Predrag ( 2017 - 06 - 05 ). `` Defying Russia, Montenegro finally joins NATO ''. ABC News. Archived from the original on 2017 - 06 - 07. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 05. Jump up ^ `` NATO 's Operations 1949 -- Present '' ( PDF ). NATO. 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2013. Jump up ^ Zenko 2010, pp. 133 -- 134. Jump up ^ Zenko 2010, p. 134. Jump up ^ NATO Handbook : Evolution of the Conflict, NATO, archived from the original on 7 November 2001 Jump up ^ Rubin, Trudy ( 31 May 1995 ). `` U.N. Must Stand Up To The Serbs ''. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 5 September 2013. Jump up ^ Bethlehem & Weller 1997, p. liiv. ^ Jump up to : Zenko 2010, pp. 137 -- 138 Jump up ^ Clausson 2006, p. 94 -- 97. Jump up ^ Tice, Jim ( 22 February 2009 ). `` Thousands more now eligible for NATO Medal ''. Army Times. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Nato to strike Yugoslavia ''. BBC News. 24 March 1999. Retrieved 25 September 2015. Jump up ^ Thorpe, Nick ( 24 March 2004 ). `` UN Kosovo mission walks a tightrope ''. BBC News. Retrieved 11 April 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Operation Shining Hope ''. Global Security. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Kosovo Report Card ''. International Crisis Group. 28 August 2000. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Jump up ^ Helm, Toby ( 27 September 2001 ). `` Macedonia mission a success, says Nato ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Kosovo Force ( KFOR ) Key Facts and Figures '' ( PDF ). NATO. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2014. Jump up ^ `` NATO reaffirms power to take action without U.N. approval ''. CNN. 24 April 1999. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Allied Command Atlantic ''. NATO Handbook. NATO. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008. Jump up ^ `` NATO Update : Invocation of Article 5 confirmed -- 2 October 2001 ''. Nato.int. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` NATO 's Operations 1949 -- Present '' ( PDF ). NATO. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ David P. Auerswald, and Stephen M. Saideman, eds. NATO in Afghanistan : Fighting Together, Fighting Alone ( Princeton U.P., 2014 ) Jump up ^ `` UNSC Resolution 1510, October 13, 2003 '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 5 July 2010. Jump up ^ `` ISAF Chronology ''. Nato.int. Retrieved 5 July 2010. Jump up ^ Morales, Alex ( 5 October 2006 ). `` NATO Takes Control of East Afghanistan From U.S. - Led Coalition ''. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` La France et l'OTAN ''. Le Monde ( in French ). France. Retrieved 16 July 2011. Jump up ^ `` NATO sets `` irreversible '' but risky course to end Afghan war ``. Reuters. Reuters. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012. Jump up ^ Official Website Jump up ^ El Gamal, Rania ( 17 December 2011 ). `` NATO closes up training mission in Iraq ''. Reuters. Retrieved 17 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` Operation Ocean Shield ''. NATO. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` 2009 Operation Ocean Shield News Articles ''. NATO. October 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2011. Jump up ^ `` Operation Ocean Shield purpose ''. July 12, 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Statement by the NATO Secretary General on Libya arms embargo ''. NATO. 22 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` Press briefing by NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu, Brigadier General Pierre St - Amand, Canadian Air Force and General Massimo Panizzi, spokesperson of the Chairman of the Military Committee ''. NATO. 23 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` NATO reaches deal to take over Libya operation ; allied planes hit ground forces ''. Washington Post. 25 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` NATO to police Libya no - fly zone ''. 24 March 2011. Jump up ^ O'Sullivan, Arieh ( 31 March 2011 ). `` UAE and Qatar pack an Arab punch in Libya operation ''. Jerusalem Post. se. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` NATO strikes Tripoli, Gaddafi army close on Misrata '', Khaled al - Ramahi. Malaysia Star. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011 Jump up ^ Coughlin, Con ( 9 June 2011 ). `` Political Gridlock at NATO '', Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 June 2011 Jump up ^ `` Gates Calls on NATO Allies to Do More in Libya '', Jim Garamone. US Department of Defense. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011 Jump up ^ Cloud, David S. ( 9 June 2011 ). `` Gates calls for more NATO allies to join Libya air campaign '', Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 June 2011 Jump up ^ Burns, Robert ( 10 June 2011 ). `` Gates blasts NATO, questions future of alliance '', Washington Times. Retrieved January 29, 2013 Jump up ^ Birnbaum, Michael ( 10 June 2011 ). `` Gates rebukes European allies in farewell speech '', Washington Post. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Jump up ^ Amland, Bjoern H. ( 10 June 2011 ). `` Norway to quit Libya operation by August '', AP. Retrieved January 29, 2013 Jump up ^ `` Danish planes running out of bombs '', Times of Malta. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011 Jump up ^ `` Danish Planes in Libya Running Out of Bombs : Report '', Defense News. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011 Jump up ^ `` Navy chief : Britain can not keep up its role in Libya air war due to cuts '', James Kirkup. The Telegraph. 13 June 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2013 Jump up ^ `` NATO : Ongoing resistance by pro-Gadhafi forces in Libya is ' surprising ' ''. The Washington Post. UPI. 11 October 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` NATO strategy in Libya may not work elsewhere ''. USA Today. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011. Jump up ^ Tharoor, Ishaan ( 16 May 2012 ). `` How Many Innocent Civilians Did NATO Kill in Libya ? ''. Time Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2016. Jump up ^ Croft, Adrian. `` NATO to advise Libya on strengthening security forces ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ Collins 2011, pp. 122 -- 123. Jump up ^ `` The area of responsibility ''. NATO Declassified. NATO. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Washington Treaty ''. NATO. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2013. Jump up ^ Adrian Croft ( 19 September 2013 ). `` Some EU states may no longer afford air forces - general ''. Reuters. Retrieved 31 March 2013. Jump up ^ Craig Whitlock ( 29 January 2012 ). `` NATO allies grapple with shrinking defense budgets ''. Washington Post. Retrieved 29 March 2013. Jump up ^ Joy, Oliver ( 16 January 2014 ). `` Macedonian PM : Greece is avoiding talks over name dispute ''. CNN. Retrieved 18 April 2014. Jump up ^ Ramadanovic, Jusuf ; Nedjeljko Rudovic ( 12 September 2008 ). `` Montenegro, BiH join Adriatic Charter ''. Southeast European Times. Retrieved 24 March 2009. Jump up ^ George J, Teigen JM ( 2008 ). `` NATO Enlargement and Institution Building : Military Personnel Policy Challenges in the Post-Soviet Context ''. European Security. 17 ( 2 ) : 346. doi : 10.1080 / 09662830802642512. Jump up ^ Cathcourt, Will ( 27 March 2014 ). `` Obama Tells Georgia to Forget About NATO After Encouraging It to Join ''. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 April 2014. Jump up ^ `` Medvedev warns on Nato expansion ''. BBC News. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Jump up ^ Art 1998, pp. 383 -- 4 : `` The United States and its NATO allies have gotten themselves into a real pickle... ( w ) ith their decision to enlarge NATO by taking in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic... How large can a NATO - without - Russia become before the West more or less permanently alienates Russia ?... Taking in Ukraine without also inducting Russia is the quickest way to alienate Russia... and would justifiably give rise within Russia to fears of encirclement by, and exclusion from, the West. '' Jump up ^ Polityuk, Pavel ( 18 March 2014 ). `` PM tells Ukrainians : No NATO membership, armed groups to disarm ''. Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Ukrainian President Signs Law Allowing NATO Membership Bid ''. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` NATO Topics : Individual Partnership Action Plans ''. Nato.int. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Cooperative Archer military exercise begins in Georgia ''. RIA Novosti. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Partnership for Peace ''. Nato.int. Retrieved 3 March 2011. Jump up ^ `` Nato and Belarus -- partnership, past tensions and future possibilities ''. Foreign Policy and Security Research Center. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2010. Jump up ^ `` NATO Topics : The Euro - Atlantic Partnership Council ''. Nato.int. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Declaration by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ''. Nato.int. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ Bram Boxhoorn, Broad Support for NATO in the Netherlands, 21 September 2005, `` ATAedu.org ''. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 10. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ `` NATO Partner countries ''. Nato.int. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2011. Jump up ^ NATO, Relations with Contact Countries. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` NATO PARTNERSHIPS : DOD Needs to Assess U.S. Assistance in Response to Changes to the Partnership for Peace Program '' ( PDF ). United States Government Accountability Office. September 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Partners ''. NATO. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` Relations with Colombia ''. nato.int. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` NATO homepage ''. Retrieved 12 March 2006. Jump up ^ Mayo, Virginia ( 13 November 2014 ). `` NATO shows off its new HQ - to - be ''. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 December 2014. Jump up ^ http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49287.htm Jump up ^ `` NATO 's new headquarters ''. NATO. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017. Jump up ^ Collins 2011, p. 26. Jump up ^ `` NATO Headquarters ''. Nato.int. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ NATO ( May 23, 2017 ). `` NATO 's new headquarters ''. www.nato.int. Retrieved May 26, 2017. Last updated : 23 May. 2017 18 : 13 Jump up ^ NATO ( February 2017 ). `` New NATO HQ '' ( PDF ). www.nato.int. Retrieved May 26, 2017. Jump up ^ Daniel Halper ( May 25, 2017 ). `` New NATO Headquarters Cost $1.23 Billion ''. The Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved May 26, 2017. Jump up ^ `` National delegations to NATO What is their role ? ''. NATO. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007. Jump up ^ `` Battle for Ukraine : How a diplomatic success unravelled ''. The Financial Times. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` NATO Who 's who ? -- Secretaries General of NATO ''. Nato.int. Retrieved 22 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` NATO Who 's who ? -- Deputy Secretaries General of NATO ''. NATO. Retrieved 20 July 2012. Jump up ^ Press Statement : German MP Karl A. Lamers elected President of NATO PA. NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 16 November 2010 Jump up ^ `` General Stéphane Abrial, French Air Force, assumed duties as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in summer 2009 ''. Act.nato.int. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` Topic : The Military Committee ''. NATO. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` France to rejoin NATO command ''. CNN. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ Fuller, Thomas ( 18 February 2003 ). `` Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his ' last chance ' ''. International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007. Jump up ^ `` 1949 -- 1952 : Creating a Command Structure for NATO ''. NATO. 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ Espen Barth, Eide ; Frédéric Bozo ( Spring 2005 ). `` Should NATO play a more political role ? ''. Nato Review. NATO. Retrieved 15 July 2007. Jump up ^ `` The Rapid Deployable Corps ''. NATO. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2013. Jump up ^ BBC, NATO Readjusts as Ukraine Crisis Looms, 5 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` NATO Activates New Multinational Division Southeast Headquarters in Bucharest, Romania ''. NATO Headquarters, Belgium. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2017. Bibliography Art, Robert J. ( 1998 ). `` Creating a Disaster : NATO 's Open Door Policy ''. Political Science Quarterly. 113 ( 3 ) : 383 -- 403. JSTOR 2658073. Auerswald, David P., and Stephen M. Saideman, eds. NATO in Afghanistan : Fighting Together, Fighting Alone ( Princeton U.P., 2014 ) Behrman, Greg ( 2007 ). The Most Noble Adventure : The Marshall Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 7432 - 8263 - 9. Bethlehem, Daniel L. ; Weller, Marc ( 1997 ). The ' Yugoslav ' Crisis in International Law. Cambridge International Documents Series. 5. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 46304 - 1. Clausson, M.I. ( 2006 ). NATO : Status, Relations, and Decision - Making. Nova Publishers. ISBN 1 - 60021 - 098 - 8. Collins, Brian J. ( 2011 ). NATO : A Guide to the Issues. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 0 - 3133 - 5491 - X. Garthoff, Raymond L. ( 1994 ). Détente and confrontation : American - Soviet relations from Nixon to Reagan. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 0 - 8157 - 3041 - 1. Gorbachev, Mikhail ( 1996 ). Memoirs. London : Doubleday. ISBN 978 - 0 - 385 - 40668 - 0. Harsch, Michael F. ( 2015 ). The Power of Dependence : NATO - UN Cooperation in Crisis Management. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 1910 - 3396 - 0. Isby, David C. ; Kamps Jr., Charles ( 1985 ). Armies of NATO 's Central Front. Jane 's Information Group. ISBN 0 - 7106 - 0341 - X. Kaplan, Lawrence S. ( 2013 ). NATO before the Korean War : April 1949 -- June 1950. Kent, OH : Kent State University Press. Kaplan, Lawrence S. ( 2004 ). NATO Divided, NATO United : The Evolution of an Alliance. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0 - 2759 - 8006 - 5. National Defense University ( 1997 ). Allied command structures in the new NATO. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 1 - 57906 - 033 - 1. Njølstad, Olav ( 2004 ). The last decade of the Cold War : from conflict escalation to conflict transformation. 5. Psychology Press. ISBN 0 - 7146 - 8539 - 9. Osgood, Robert E. ( 1962 ). NATO : The Entangling Alliance. University of Chicago Press. Park, William ( 1986 ). Defending the West : a history of NATO. Westview Press. ISBN 0 - 8133 - 0408 - 3. Pedaliu, Effie G.H. ( 2003 ). Britain, Italy, and the Origins of the Cold War. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0 - 333 - 97380 - 1. Reynolds, David ( 1994 ). The Origins of the Cold War in Europe : International Perspectives. Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 300 - 10562 - 2. Schoenbaum, Thomas J. ( 1988 ). Waging Peace and War : Dean Rusk in the Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson Years. Ann Arbor, Michigan : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 671 - 60351 - 5. van der Eyden, Ton ( 2003 ). Public management of society : rediscovering French institutional engineering in the European context. 1. IOS Press. ISBN 1 - 58603 - 291 - 7. Wenger, Andreas ; Nuenlist, Christian ; Locher, Anna ( 2007 ). Transforming NATO in the Cold War : Challenges beyond deterrence in the 1960s. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0 - 415 - 39737 - 5. Willbanks, James H. ( 2004 ). Machine Guns : An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC - CLIO. ISBN 1 - 8510 - 9480 - 6. Zenko, Micah ( 2010 ). Between Threats and War : U.S. Discrete Military Operations in the Post-Cold War World. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0 - 8047 - 7191 - X. Further reading Asmus, Ronald ( 2010 ). A Little War that Shook the World : Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West. NYU. ISBN 978 - 0 - 230 - 61773 - 5. External links Find more aboutNATOat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Data from Wikidata Official Official website Basic NATO Documents `` NATO Declassified ''. Collected news NATO collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English NATO collected news and commentary at Dawn `` NATO collected news and commentary ''. The Guardian. `` NATO collected news and commentary ''. The New York Times. History `` Timeline : Nato -- A brief look at some of the key dates in the organisation 's history '' by The Guardian 's Simon Jeffery on February 11, 2003 Historic films The short film Big Picture : Why NATO ? is available for free download at the Internet Archive The short film Big Picture : NATO Maneuvers is available for free download at the Internet Archive North Atlantic Treaty Organization History North Atlantic Treaty Summit Operations Enlargement Structure Council Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Air Command Land Command Maritime Command JFC Brunssum JFC Naples Allied Command Transformation Parliamentary Assembly Standardization Agreement People Secretary General Chairman of the Military Committee Supreme Allied Commander Europe Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Members Main members Albania Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States Multilateral relations Atlantic Treaty Association Euro - Atlantic Partnership Council Mediterranean Dialogue Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Partnership for Peace NATO summits 1950s 1st ( Paris ) 1970s 2nd ( Brussels ) 3rd ( Brussels ) 4th ( London ) 5th ( Washington, D.C. ) 1980s 6th ( Bonn ) 7th ( Brussels ) 8th ( Brussels ) 9th ( Brussels ) 10th ( Brussels ) 1990s 11th ( London ) 12th ( Rome ) 13th ( Brussels ) 14th ( Paris ) 15th ( Madrid ) 16th ( Washington, D.C. ) 2000s NATO HQ summit ( Brussels ) 17th ( Rome ) 18th ( Prague ) 19th ( Istanbul ) 20th ( Brussels ) 21st ( Riga ) 22nd ( Bucharest ) 23rd ( Strasbourg -- Kehl ) 2010s 24th ( Lisbon ) 25th ( Chicago ) 26th ( Newport ) 27th ( Warsaw ) 28th ( Brussels ) North Atlantic Council Secretary General of NATO List of NATO Secretaries General Current leaders of NATO member states Secretary General Stoltenberg Rama Michel Borisov Trudeau Plenković Sobotka Løkke Rasmussen Ratas Macron Merkel Tsipras Orbán Bjarni Gentiloni Kučinskis Grybauskaitė Bettel Marković Rutte Solberg Szydło Costa Iohannis Fico Cerar Rajoy Yıldırım May Trump Cold War USA USSR ANZUS NATO Non-Aligned Movement SEATO Warsaw Pact 1940s Hukbalahap Rebellion Dekemvriana Yalta Conference Guerrilla war in the Baltic states Forest Brothers Operation Priboi Operation Jungle Occupation of the Baltic states Cursed soldiers Operation Unthinkable Potsdam Conference Gouzenko Affair Operation Masterdom Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Corfu Channel incident Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference Marshall Plan 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Tito -- Stalin Split Berlin Blockade Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Chinese Civil War ( Second round ) Malayan Emergency Albanian Subversion 1950s Bamboo Curtain Korean War McCarthyism 1953 Iranian coup d'état Uprising of 1953 in East Germany Dirty War ( Mexico ) Bricker Amendment 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Partition of Vietnam First Taiwan Strait Crisis Geneva Summit ( 1955 ) Bandung Conference Poznań 1956 protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Suez Crisis `` We will bury you '' Operation Gladio Arab Cold War Syrian Crisis of 1957 1958 Lebanon crisis Iraqi 14 July Revolution Sputnik crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Cuban Revolution Kitchen Debate Sino - Soviet split 1960s Congo Crisis 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Soviet -- Albanian split Berlin Wall Portuguese Colonial War Angolan War of Independence Guinea - Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence Cuban Missile Crisis Sino - Indian War Communist insurgency in Sarawak Iraqi Ramadan Revolution 1963 Syrian coup d'état Vietnam War 1964 Brazilian coup d'état United States occupation of the Dominican Republic ( 1965 -- 66 ) South African Border War Transition to the New Order Domino theory ASEAN Declaration Laotian Civil War 1966 Syrian coup d'état Argentine Revolution Korean DMZ Conflict Greek military junta of 1967 -- 74 USS Pueblo incident Six - Day War War of Attrition Dhofar Rebellion Protests of 1968 French May Cultural Revolution Prague Spring Communist insurgency in Malaysia Invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraqi Ba'athist Revolution Goulash Communism Sino - Soviet border conflict CPP -- NPA -- NDF rebellion Corrective Move 1970s Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September in Jordan Corrective Movement ( Syria ) Cambodian Civil War Realpolitik Ping - pong diplomacy 1971 Turkish military memorandum Corrective Revolution ( Egypt ) Four Power Agreement on Berlin Bangladesh Liberation War 1972 Nixon visit to China North Yemen - South Yemen Border Conflict 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War Carnation Revolution Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Rhodesian Bush War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Ogaden War Ethiopian Civil War Lebanese Civil War Sino - Albanian split Cambodian -- Vietnamese War Sino - Vietnamese War Iranian Revolution Operation Condor Dirty War Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Saur Revolution New Jewel Movement 1979 Herat uprising Seven Days to the River Rhine Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union 1980s Soviet -- Afghan War 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts 1980 Turkish coup d'état Invasion of Grenada 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident Solidarity Soviet reaction Contras Central American crisis RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Able Archer 83 Star Wars People Power Revolution Glasnost Perestroika Nagorno - Karabakh War Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Revolutions of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall 1990s Mongolian Revolution of 1990 German reunification Yemeni unification Fall of communism in Albania Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia Frozen conflicts Abkhazia China Korea Nagorno - Karabakh South Ossetia Transnistria Sino - Indian border dispute North Borneo dispute Foreign policy Truman Doctrine Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Johnson Doctrine Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Rollback Sovereignty of Puerto Rico during the Cold War Ideologies Capitalism Chicago school Keynesianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply - side economics Thatcherism Communism Marxism -- Leninism Castroism Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Maoism Naxalism Stalinism Titoism Other Islamism Liberal democracy Social democracy Third - Worldism White supremacy Organizations ASEAN CIA Comecon EEC KGB MI6 Non-Aligned Movement SAARC Safari Club Stasi Propaganda Active measures Crusade for Freedom Izvestia Pravda Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Red Scare TASS Voice of America Voice of Russia Races Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race See also Soviet espionage in the United States Soviet Union -- United States relations Soviet -- US summits Russian espionage in the United States American espionage in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation NATO -- Russia relations Brinkmanship CIA and the Cultural Cold War Cold War II Commons Portal Timeline List of conflicts War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War War in North - West Pakistan Symbolism of terrorism Participants Operational ISAF Operation Enduring Freedom participants Afghanistan Northern Alliance Iraq ( Iraqi Armed Forces ) NATO Pakistan United Kingdom United States European Union Philippines Ethiopia Targets al - Qaeda Osama bin Laden al - Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Abu Sayyaf Anwar al - Awlaki Al - Shabaab Harkat - ul - Jihad al - Islami Hizbul Mujahideen Islamic Courts Union Jaish - e-Mohammed Jemaah Islamiyah Lashkar - e-Taiba Taliban Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Conflicts Operation Enduring Freedom War in Afghanistan OEF -- Philippines Georgia Train and Equip Program Georgia Sustainment and Stability OEF -- Horn of Africa OEF -- Trans Sahara Drone strikes in Pakistan Other Operation Active Endeavour Insurgency in the Maghreb ( 2002 -- present ) Insurgency in the North Caucasus Moro conflict in the Philippines Iraq War Iraqi insurgency Operation Linda Nchi Terrorism in Saudi Arabia War in North - West Pakistan War in Somalia ( 2006 -- 09 ) 2007 Lebanon conflict al - Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Korean conflict See also Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse Axis of evil Black sites Bush Doctrine Clash of Civilizations Cold War Combatant Status Review Tribunal Criticism of the War on Terror Death of Osama bin Laden Enhanced interrogation techniques Torture Memos Extrajudicial prisoners Extraordinary rendition Guantanamo Bay detention camp Iranian Revolution Islamism Military Commissions Act of 2006 North Korea and weapons of mass destruction Terrorist Surveillance Program Operation Noble Eagle Operation Eagle Assist Pakistan 's role Patriot Act President 's Surveillance Program Protect America Act of 2007 September 11 attacks State Sponsors of Terrorism Targeted killing Targeted Killing in International Law Targeted Killings : Law and Morality in an Asymmetrical World Unitary executive theory Unlawful combatant Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan CAGE Terrorism portal War portal Power in international relations Types Economic Energy Food Hard National Power politics Realpolitik Smart Soft Status Emerging Small Middle Regional Great Super Hyper Geopolitics American Asian British Chinese Indian Pacific History List of ancient great powers List of medieval great powers List of modern great powers International relations of the Great Powers ( 1814 -- 1919 ) Theory Balance of power European Center of power Hegemonic stability theory Philosophy of power Polarity Power projection Power transition theory Second Superpower Sphere of influence Superpower collapse Superpower disengagement Studies Composite Index of National Capability Comprehensive National Power Organizations and groups by region or regions affected Africa African Union Union for the Mediterranean Africa -- Asia Arab League Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( GCC ) Organization of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) Americas Mercosur North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) Organization of American States ( OAS ) Union of South American Nations ( Unasur ) Asia Asia Cooperation Dialogue ( ACD ) Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) China -- Japan -- South Korea trilateral summits Economic Cooperation Organization ( ECO ) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC ) Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO ) Europe Council of Europe ( CE ) European Union ( EU ) Nordic Council Visegrád Group Eurasia Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) Collective Security Treaty Organization ( CSTO ) Economic Cooperation Organization ( ECO ) Eurasian Economic Union ( EaEU ) Turkic Council North America -- Europe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) Arctic Council Africa -- Asia -- Europe Union for the Mediterranean Africa -- South America South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone Oceania - Pacific Australia -- New Zealand -- United States Security Treaty ( ANZUS ) Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) Melanesian Spearhead Group ( MSG ) Pacific Islands Forum ( PIF ) Polynesian Leaders Group ( PLG ) Non-regional Brazil -- Russia -- India -- China -- South Africa ( BRICS ) Commonwealth of Nations Francophonie Colombia -- Indonesia -- Vietnam -- Egypt -- Turkey -- South Africa ( CIVETS ) E7 E9 G4 G7 G8 G8 + 5 G20 G24 G77 India -- Brazil -- South Africa Dialogue Forum ( IBSA ) Mexico -- Indonesia -- Nigeria -- Turkey ( MINT ) Next Eleven ( N - 11 ) Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM ) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) Uniting for Consensus Global United Nations ( UN ) Regional organizations Bodies African Union Arab League Asia Cooperation Dialogue Association of Caribbean States ASEAN BBIN BIMSTEC Caribbean Community Central American Integration System Commonwealth of Independent States Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Council of Europe East African Community Economic Community of West African States Economic Cooperation Organization Eurasian Economic Union European Union GUAM Gulf Cooperation Council Latin American Parliament Melanesian Spearhead Group Mercosur NATO Nordic Council Organization of American States Pacific Islands Forum Polynesian Leaders Group Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership SCO SAARC TAKM Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Turkic Council Union of South American Nations NORDEFCO West Nordic Council Topics Regional integration Regional organizations by population Regionalism ( international relations ) VIAF : 148423701 LCCN : n79006743 ISNI : 0000 0001 1537 6279 GND : 377 - 3 SELIBR : 125434 SUDOC : 026438453 BNF : cb11868595r ( data ) BIBSYS : 90056314 ULAN : 500225812 NLA : 35390828 NDL : 00568052 NKC : kn20010711289 BNE : XX93263 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NATO&oldid=804437929 '' Categories : NATO 1949 in military history 20th - century military alliances 21st - century military alliances Anti-communist organizations Cold War organizations Cold War treaties Foreign relations of the Soviet Union International military organizations Military alliances involving Belgium Military alliances involving Bulgaria Military alliances involving Canada Military alliances involving Estonia Military alliances involving France Military alliances involving Greece Military alliances involving Hungary Military alliances involving Italy Military alliances involving Latvia Military alliances involving Lithuania Military alliances involving Luxembourg Military alliances involving Poland Military alliances involving Portugal Military alliances involving Romania Military alliances involving Spain Military alliances involving Turkey Military alliances involving the Netherlands Military alliances involving the United Kingdom Military alliances involving the United States Organisations based in Brussels Military units and formations established in 1949 Supraorganizations 1949 establishments in Washington, D.C. Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Wikipedia indefinitely move - protected pages EngvarB from July 2015 Use British English Oxford spelling from August 2015 Use dmy dates from July 2012 Good articles Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing French - language text Articles containing Latin - language text Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2013 All articles containing potentially dated statements All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikinews Afrikaans Alemannisch Aragonés অসমীয়া Asturianu Авар Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Boarisch Bosanski Brezhoneg Буряад Català Чӑвашла Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Estremeñu Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Føroyskt Français Frysk Gaeilge Gaelg Galego 贛 語 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hornjoserbsce Hrvatski Ido Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Interlingue Ирон Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ Къарачай - малкъар ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Kurdî Кыргызча Лезги Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Limburgs Lumbaart Magyar Македонски Malagasy മലയാളം मराठी მარგალური مصرى مازِرونی Bahasa Melayu Mirandés Мокшень Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands नेपाल भाषा 日本 語 Napulitano Нохчийн Norsk Norsk nynorsk Novial Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Pälzisch پنجابی پښتو Patois ភាសា ខ្មែរ Piemontèis Polski Português Română Romani Русиньскый Русский Саха тыла Sámegiella Scots Seeltersk Shqip Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Soomaaliga کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська اردو ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche Vèneto Vepsän kel ' Tiếng Việt Volapük Võro Winaray ייִדיש Yorùbá 粵語 Zazaki Žemaitėška 中文 Kabɩyɛ Edit links This page was last edited on 9 October 2017, at 00 : 43. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what do the letters in nato stand for
Answer: North Atlantic Treaty Organization