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What is NATO? -

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed on April 4, 1949 in Washington, D.C. It was created as a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II.

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Original NATO member countries -

The North Atlantic Treaty was first signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. NATO has 32 member states, with the 2023 addition of Finland and the 2024 addition of Sweden. 

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Warsaw Pact -

Following the membership of West Germany in 1955, the Soviets responded to NATO by signing the Warsaw Pact. This was an alliance between the Soviet Union and communist countries in Eastern Europe.

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Mission -

“NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.”

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NATO’s strategic commander appointment -

In December 1950, NATO appointed its first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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SACEUR -

The SACEUR is responsible to NATO’s highest military authority, the Military Committee (MC). The current SACEUR is Tod D. Wolters, United States Air Force.

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SACT -

The SACEUR works in cooperation with the other strategic commander: the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT). The current SACT is French Air and Space General Philippe Lavigne.

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Military structure -

NATO itself doesn’t have its own armed forces. Instead, its military force is composed of those of member countries.

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Military spending -

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2017 the total military spending of 29 NATO member countries accounted “for 52% of world [military] spending."

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Military spending -

In summary, NATO member countries spend around 2% of their GDP on the military. The total average spending in comparison to the rest of the world is indeed high. But this also has a lot to do with the fact that the United States has a considerably high military budget.

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Military spending -

The US might have a military budget of hundreds of billions of dollars, but this is not the case for every NATO member country. In fact, one country actually spends zero, annually.

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Military spending -

We are talking about Iceland. But the country does contribute financially to NATO and has deployed personnel to NATO missions.

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The Soviet Union tried to join NATO -

In 1954, a year after Stalin died, the Soviets asked to join NATO. They were prepared "to consider jointly with the interested governments the question of the participation of the USSR in the North Atlantic Treaty."

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The Soviet Union tried to join NATO -

NATO rejected their proposal on grounds of incompatibility with the organization's "democratic and defensive aims."

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The Soviet Union tried to join NATO -

In 1990, President Mikhail Gorbachev proposed, for the last time, that the Soviet Union join NATO. His proposal was dismissed.

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MC 48 -

MC 48 stands for "The Most Effective Pattern of NATO Military Strength for the Next Few Years." It was approved in November 1954, and it essentially gives green light for NATO to use nuclear weapons, if required to do so.

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MC 48 -

While this is not explicitly mentioned, wording such as "all types of weapons without exception" implies that nuclear weapons can be used.

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MC 14/2 -

MC 14/2 (Overall Strategic Concept for the Defense of the NATO Area) states that, "NATO defense depends upon an immediate exploitation of our nuclear capability, whether or not the Soviets employ nuclear weapons." Specific guidelines with regards to nuclear weapons are detailed in MC 14/3.

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Operation Gladio -

NATO, together with CIA and European intelligence agencies (e.g. MI6), created and managed a network of clandestine “stay-behind” armies. The initial aim was to deal with the threat of communism following World War II.

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Operation Gladio -

According to Grey Dynamics, the Operation included "the formation of domestic paramilitary forces, planned escape, and logistical routes within involved countries, and the establishment of various weapons and equipment cache sites strategically placed." Though due to its covert nature, the full extent of Operation Gladio remains unknown.

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Operation Allied Force -

On March 24, 1999, NATO forces started a bombing campaign in Yugoslavia that lasted 78 days. This was during the Kosovo War and led Yugoslav forces to withdraw from Kosovo.

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Operation Allied Force -

However, the bombing was not approved by the United Nations Security Council. The Independent International Commission on Kosovo later justified NATO’s intervention as "illegal but legitimate."

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Article 5 -

NATO’s Article 5 states its position with regards to collective defense of its members. It reads: "An armed attack against one or more of [NATO member countries] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all" and NATO will "assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other parties, such action as it deems necessary."

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Article 5 -

As of today, Article 5 has only ever been invoked once: following the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001. NATO “agreed that if it is determined that this attack was directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.”

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Article 5 -

Operation Active Endeavour (OAE) and Operation Eagle Assist followed, with the latter involving NATO patrolling US airspace "for nearly 4,300 hours in over 360 operational sorties."

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Spying scandal -

In 2008, the former head of security at the Estonian Defense Ministry, Herman Simm, was arrested. Between 1995 and 2008, Simm worked as a Russian spy and passed information to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

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Enhanced Forward Presence -

The Enhanced Forward Presence mission was established in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in 2016. According to the BBC, it involved "train[ing] local soldiers as a deterrent against Russia in a number of Eastern European countries."

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NATO’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine -

In February 2022, the NATO Response Force (NRF) was activated in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The NRF “is a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly.”

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NATO’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine -

NATO added that: “Allies have placed thousands of additional troops – along with armored vehicles, artillery units, ships and aircraft – at high readiness earmarked for the NRF, ensuring that it continues to have the speed, responsiveness and capability to defend NATO territory and populations.”

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NATO -

Ukraine applied for fast-track NATO membership on September 30 2022 in response to Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

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Finland officially joins NATO -

In a historic moment also spurred on by the invasion, Finland officially became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023. The Nordic nation, which shares a 1,340-km (832-mile) border with Russia, had applied to join the military alliance due to the impending threat. Feeling the heat, Russia immediately responded to the announcement of the world’s biggest military alliance getting bigger by issuing a warning that they would bolster forces along its border with Finland.

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Sweden finally joins NATO -

The Swedish government first submitted its application to join NATO in May 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. However, the organization requires a unanimous vote from all members in order to accept a new country. Tensions between Sweden and NATO members Turkey and Hungary meant that the road to membership for the Scandinavian nation has been long and arduous. After almost two years of negotiations, Turkey and Hungary finally voted to accept the country into NATO. On March 7 2024, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO. All Nordic countries are now NATO members giving the organization control of the region, which may become crucial as tensions with Russia escalate. 

Sources: (NATO) (The Guardian) (TIME) (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) (Macrotrends) (The International Institute for Strategic Studies) (Grey Dynamics) (The Conversation) (The Independent International Commission on Kosovo) (Associated Press) (BBC) (CNN)

See also: Read all about these Cold War facts and trivia

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