What is NATO: history, organization, functions

North Atlantic OrganizationThe Treaty (abbreviated as NATO), which also has the name of the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance. NATO, which consists of 28 states bordering the North Atlantic (namely Canada, the United States, Turkey and most of the members of the European Union), was established to protect their freedoms. In its treaty, signed in Washington on April 4, 1949 and justifying what NATO is, it is indicated that an armed attack on one of the members of the alliance should be considered as an attack on all.

North Atlantic Alliance stands forthe rule of law, democracy, individual freedom, peaceful resolution of disputes and is engaged in the promotion of such values ​​in the Euro-Atlantic region. The headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.

So what is NATO?This is a forum in which the countries of Europe and North America have the opportunity to consult with each other on security issues of mutual interest and to take joint measures to resolve these issues. In recent years, the goal of NATO has expanded and now includes protection against weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and cyber attacks. The fight against terrorism was included in the priority objectives of the alliance after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001, which is considered an attack on the United States.

To better understand what NATO is, we turn tostories. The military bloc was created after World War II ended, within the framework of the United Nations. Its main purpose was to protect member countries from a large number of troops of the communist countries. Further, NATO’s history developed during the Cold War, when the organization’s mission expanded to prevent

nuclear war.After the entry into the bloc of West Germany, the communist countries, including the USSR, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany, formed an alliance of the Warsaw Pact. In response, NATO adopted a policy of massive retaliation, promising to use nuclear weapons in the event of an attack.

After the fall of the Berlin Wallin 1989, and also after the collapse of the USSR, relations between NATO and Russia began to be based on bilateral cooperation. In 2002, the Russia-NATO Council was established to regulate general security issues. Highest priority alliance

became the mission in Afghanistan. For the success of the peacekeeping mission, the organization even asked for help from its main rival, Russia.

Over the years, NATO has becomestronger and strengthened communication between members. The treaty itself served as the basis and model for other international collective security treaties. Today, the question of what NATO is can be answered with confidence: it is one of the most successful defensive alliances of all time, which is currently affecting the scenario of various world changes. Our future world is filled with known and unknown threats. NATO can act as a beacon in the open sea of ​​various hazards.