The Purpose Of NATO

DBQ Outline Intro Paragraph · Background/Context: The Cold War was a state of political tension after World War II between the Eastern bloc countries and Western bloc countries. Cold War took a significant place in between 1947 to 1991 which the two most powerful countries, United States of America and Soviet Union, were competing with each other over spreading the rule and showing off their arms without killing people. After the World War II, people in different countries started to think about who bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War, United States or USSR. · Three-point thesis: The United States of America bears more responsibility for starting the Cold War because it built up military powers and prepared for

Thesis: Although NATO provided assistance in containing the spread of communism, and its member countries applied economic pressure on the Soviet Union, neither NATO nor President Reagan should be solely credited with causing the fall of the Soviet Union and thus the end of the Cold War. Instead, it was a combination of the tough Reagan administration policies and NATO’s threatening military armory along with grave economic problems within the Soviet Union that ultimately brought the end to the Cold War.

(1) After the end of World War II, all involved countries, with no exception of being victorious or defeated, have started seeking of the prevention of a new disaster by reconstructing and maintaining the security and peace primarily in Europe. All huge and disastrous events (such as World Wars) which affected whole world were originated from the uncomfortable conditions and conflicts in the continent. Thus the main task was to settle a

In 1949, the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and other capitalist states . Through this treaty, the countries agreed to defend each

In 1949 the US formed a mutual defense alliance with Western Europe called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Truman had a hard time convincing Congress that this organization was necessary on account of American sentiment previously being avoidant of entangling alliances. The NATO charter pledged that an attack on one of the member nations constituted an attack on all of the members. Stalin’s aggressive actions at Berlin accelerated the American effort to use military means to contain communism. So the implementation of this alliance represented Truman’s willingness to disregard the tradition of neutrality. The Soviets also create an alliance called the Warsaw Pact countries that had the equivalent ambitions as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The NATO, also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was a military alliance that was created as a response to the Soviet Union becoming a threat to the United States. They believed that this alliance would provide them with support and stability and protect them from any threats that they get from the Soviet Union. Document 4 states, "The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in

Nowhere does it say that NATO was a military attack agreement. It was only made to ensure the survival of already decimated countries in

1). On the other side was the United States who lived through Capitalism and believed in democracy in which everyone has a say in government. The United States gave everyone power and they were scared of the whole world turning to Communism. The Soviet Union and United States were two very strong countries that would start a huge nuclear war if they fought directly against each other. They used Proxy Wars to keep a nuclear war from happening. The United States was involved in NATO. “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or in North America shall be considered as an attack against them all” (Doc. 4). NATO was a way to have the backs of the North Atlantic area. If one place was attacked they would consider it as an attack on all of them and than they would all do whatever was

This legislation called for massive economic aid to Europe and believed that the benefits outweigh the costs. The theory was that by stabilizing Western Europe, the United States would reap the benefits of economic prosperity and increased American influence overseas. Similarly, President Truman also established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949 to further the union of Western countries. This legislature was not only important because it bound twelve nations under an alliance, but it was also the first time the United States pledged to go to war if another country was attacked. The idea in establishing this was that by creating a unified front, it would dishearten the Soviets from continuing their expansion.

The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union was very tense, especially during the Cold War. Prior to this war, during World War II, they worked together as allies. Both of them had different ways of economically thinking. The Soviet Union was communist and the United States was capitalist. However, during this time Russia wanted to spread communism across the world, but the United States aided the cessation of the spread.

Two great alliances of the cold war was NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact disbanded in 1991 after the Soviet Union downfall. NATO still exists and added Germany when the country combined in 1990. Also ten more countries joined, three in 1999 and the other seven in 2004.

They have different purposes, but they basically strive for the same goals. UN's purpose is to preserve world peace and security, encourage nations to be just in their actions toward each other, help nations cooperate in trying to solve their problems, and serve as an agency through which nations can work toward these goals. NATO's purpose is to enhance the stability, well-being, and freedom of its members by means of collective security.

While “Washington is pushing hard to help Ukraine, enthusiasm seems weaker among NATO’s other members” (“Rumsfeld Praises Ukraine for NATO Membership Effort”). At the Vilnius, Lithuania conference in October 2003, less than half of the member countries were represented.

This enables them to pursue, in different ways, cooperative programs on a wide range of practical security-related issues of benefit to their countries and to Europe as a whole. Both countries are members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). NATO continues to attach importance to discussions and practical co-operation with Russia. Their aim remains to establish a strong, stable and enduring partnership within the framework of the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

The establishment of the European Union (EU) solidified a united political, economic, and defensive front creating a Supranational Organization (Lucas, 1999, no page). With the assistance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States, the EU has developed a comprehensive security strategy responsible for leading the coalition’s objectives for mutual solidarity, global stabilization, and defense. To address security threats both regionally and globally set forth by the European Security Strategy (ESS), considerations were developed which encompass both cultural domains of geography and development.