The conflict between Western nations (including the United States, Britain, France and other countries) and the communist Eastern bloc (led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the USSR) began almost as soon as the guns fell silent at the end of World War II (1939-45). The USSR oversaw the establishment of pro-Soviet governments in many of the territories it had taken from the Nazis during the war. In response, the United States and its Western allies sought ways to prevent a further expansion of communist influence on the European continent. In 1947, U.S. leaders introduced the Marshall Plan, a diplomatic initiative that helped friendly countries rebuild their war-damaged infrastructure and economies. All NATO organisations and organisations are integrated into either the civil administration or the military executive. For the most part, they assume roles and functions that directly or indirectly support the security role of the Alliance as a whole. Not all Americans have welcomed NATO. Isolationists such as Senator Robert A. Taft have said that NATO is “not a peace program; it is a war program. Most, however, saw the organization as a necessary response to the communist threat. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in June 1949 by a large majority.
In the following years, Greece, Turkey and West Germany also joined. The Soviet Union condemned NATO as a warmongering alliance and responded by establishing the Warsaw Pact (a military alliance between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites) in 1955. The Contracting Parties may unanimously invite any other European State capable of promoting the principles of this Treaty and contributing to the security of the North Atlantic region to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America shall inform each Contracting Party of the deposit of each of these instruments of accession. As the power of the Soviet Union spread to several Eastern European countries, Western European countries feared that Moscow would impose its ideology and authority throughout Europe. Beginning with the end of World War II in 1945, Western governments began to reduce their defense facilities and demobilize their armed forces. In January 1948, however, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, spoke of the need for a “treaty of alliance and mutual assistance”, a defence alliance and a regional grouping within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations. Doubts about the strength of relations between European states and the United States fluctuated, as did doubts about the credibility of NATO`s defense against an impending Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of nuclear deterrence independent of France and the withdrawal of France from NATO`s military structure in 1966. [14] [15] In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in 1949 by the United States, Canada and several Western European countries to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. During the Libyan civil war, violence between protesters and the Libyan government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated and led to the adoption on March 17, 2011, of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a ceasefire and approved military action to protect civilians.
A coalition comprising several NATO members began applying a no-fly zone over Libya soon after, starting with the French Air Force`s Operation Harmattan on March 19. From 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships as part of an operation to protect maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates and to strengthen the navies and coastguards of states in the region. The operation has been approved by the North Atlantic Council and includes warships mainly from the United States, although ships from many other countries are also included. Operation Ocean Shield focuses on protecting Operation Allied Provider ships distributing relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme`s mission in Somalia. .