North Atlantic Treaty Organization

AbstractOnly months before the Soviet blockade sparking the Berlin Airlift was lifted, on April 4, 1949 in Washington, DC, 12 democratic nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to the Treaty, an attack on one NATO country would be an attack on all – members hoped that this would act as a deterrent to aggressive military action. Western powers needed to create a united front against what they considered a decidedly “expansionist” Soviet Union, in hopes that, in the face of another engagement, they would be able to quickly divert Soviet aggression. This multilateral organization was designed to give power equally to all members; though from its early days the United States held the most power over NATO's actions. NATO's headquarters was set up in Brussels, Belgium. The following nations all signed the original alliance: Great Britain, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Iceland, Luxembourg, Canada, Italy, Norway, and Denmark. Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland were the only Western European nations that did not join. By 1955, Greece, Turkey, and West Germany joined. The following year the governing council of NATO organized a military force in Europe as a further deterrent.