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NATO handbook00 uploaded March 25, 1993

1. WHAT IS NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty of April 1949 brought into being an Alliance of independent countries with a common interest in maintaining peace and defending their freedom through political solidarity and adequate military defence to deter and, if necessary, repel all poss- ible forms of aggression against them. Created within the framework of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms the inherent right of individual or collec- tive defence, the Alliance is an association of free states united in their determination to preserve their security through mutual guarantees and stable relations with other countries.

NATO is the Organisation which serves the Alliance. It is an inter-governmental organisation in which member countries retain their full sovereignty and independence. The Organisation provides the forum in which they con- sult together on any issues they may choose to raise and take decisions on political and military matters affecting their security. It provides the structures needed to facili- tate consultation and cooperation between them, not only in political fields but also in many other areas where policies can be coordinated in order to fulfil the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty.

NATO's essential purpose is thus to safeguard the free- dom and security of all its members by political and military means in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Based on common values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Alliance has worked since its inception for the establishment of a just and lasting peaceful order in Europe. This Alliance objective remains unchanged. NATO also embodies the transatlantic link by which the security of North America is permanently tied to the security of Europe. It is the practical expression of effective collective effort among its members in support of their common interests.

The fundamental operating principle of the Alliance is that of common commitment and mutual cooperation among sovereign states based on the indivisibility of the security of its members. Solidarity within the Alliance, given substance and effect by NATO's daily work in politi- cal, military and other spheres, ensures that no member country is forced to rely upon its own national efforts alone in dealing with basic security challenges. Without depriving member states of their right and duty to assume their sovereign responsibilities in the field of defence, the Alliance enables them through collective effort to enhance their ability to realise their essential national security objectives.

The resulting sense of equal security amongst the mem- bers of the Alliance, regardless of differences in their circumstances or in their national military capabilities, contributes to overall stability within Europe and thus to the creation of conditions conducive to increased cooper- ation both among Alliance members and with other coun- tries. It is on this basis that members of the Alliance, together with other states, are developing cooperative structures of security serving the interests of a Europe which is not subject to divisions and is free to pursue its political, economic, social and cultural destiny.

2. THE FUNDAMENTAL TASKS OF THE ALLIANCE

The means by which the Alliance carries out its security policies include the maintenance of a military capability sufficient to prevent war and to provide for effective defence; an overall capability to manage successfully crises affecting the security of its members; and active political efforts favouring dialogue with other nations and a cooperative approach to European security, includ- ing measures to bring about further progress in the field of arms control and disarmament.

To achieve its essential purpose, the Alliance performs the following fundamental security tasks:

It provides one of the indispensable foundations for stable security in Europe based on the growth of demo- cratic institutions and commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. It seeks to create an environment in which no country would be able to intimidate or coerce any European nation or to impose hegemony through the threat or use of force.

In accordance with Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, it serves as a transatlantic forum for Allied consultations on any issues affecting the vital interests of its members, including developments which might pose risks to their security. It facilitates appropriate coordination of their efforts in fields of common concern.

It provides deterrence and defence against any form of aggression against the territory of any NATO member state.

It preserves the strategic balance within Europe.

The structures created within NATO enable member countries to coordinate their policies in order to fulfil these complementary tasks. They provide for continuous consultation and cooperation in political, economic and other non-military fields as well as the formulation of joint plans for the common defence; the establishment of the infrastructure needed to enable military forces to operate; and arrangements for joint training programmes and exercises. Underpinning these activities is a complex civilian and military structure involving administrative, budgetary and planning staffs, as well as agencies which have been established by the member countries of the Alliance in order to coordinate work in specialised fields - for example, the communications needed to facilitate political consultation and command and control of mili- tary forces and the logistics support needed to sustain military forces.

The following sections describe the origins of the Alli- ance; the progress which has been made towards the realis- ation of its goals; the steps being undertaken to transform the Alliance in accordance with the dramatic changes which have taken place in the political and strategic environment; and the machinery of cooperation and struc- tural arrangements which enable NATO to fulfill its tasks.

3. ORIGINS OF THE ALLIANCE

Between 1945 and 1949, faced with the pressing need for economic reconstruction, Western European countries and their North American allies viewed with concern the expansionist policies and methods of the USSR. Having fulfilled their own wartime undertakings to reduce their defence establishments and to demobilise forces, Western governments became increasingly alarmed as it became clear that the Soviet leadership intended to maintain its own military forces at full strength. Moreover, in view of the declared ideological aims of the Soviet Communist Party, it was evident that appeals for respect for the United Nations Charter, and for the international settle- ments reached at the end of the war, would not guarantee the national sovereignty or independence of democratic states faced with the threat of outside aggression or internal subversion. The imposition of undemocratic forms of government and the repression of effective oppo- sition and of basic human and civic rights and freedoms in many Central and Eastern European countries as well as elsewhere in the world, added to these fears.

Between 1947 and 1949 a series of dramatic political events brought matters to a head. These included direct threats to the sovereignty of Norway, Greece, Turkey and other Western European countries, the June 1948 coup in Czechoslovakia and the illegal blockade of Berlin which began in April of the same year.

The signature of the Brussels Treaty of March 1948 marked the determination of five Western European countries - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Nether- lands and the United Kingdom - to develop a common defence system and to strengthen the ties between them in a manner which would enable them to resist the further use of such pressures. Negotiations with the United States and Canada then followed on the creation of a single North Atlantic Alliance based on security guarantees and mutual commitments between Europe and North America. Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Portugal were invited to become participants in this process. These negotiations culminated in the signature of the Treaty of Washington in April 1949, bringing into being a common security system based on a partnership among these twelve countries. In 1952 Greece and Turkey acceded to the Treaty. The Federal Republic of Germany joined the Alliance in 1955 and, in 1982, Spain also became a member of NATO.

The North Atlantic Alliance was thus founded on the basis of a Treaty between member states entered into freely by each of them after public debate and due parlia- mentary process. The Treaty upholds their individual rights as well as their international obligations in accord- ance with the Charter of the United Nations. It commits each member country to sharing the risks and responsibili- ties as well as the benefits of collective security and requires of each of them the undertaking not to enter into any other international commitment which might conflict with the Treaty.

4. NATO TODAY

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the unifica- tion of Germany in October 1990, the disintegration of the Soviet Union in December 1991, and dramatic changes elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, marked the end of the Cold War era. Since these events, which have transformed the political situation in Europe, the nature of the risks faced by the members of the Alliance has fundamentally changed. However, as events have proved, dangers to peace and threats to stability remain. Following the decisions taken by the NATO Heads of State and Government at their Summit Meetings in London in July 1990 and in Rome in November 1991, the North Atlantic Alliance has therefore been adapting its overall strategy in the light of the changing strategic and political environment. Attention has focussed in par- ticular on the need to reinforce the political role of the Alliance and the contribution it can make, in cooperation with other institutions, in providing the security and stability which are the prerequisite for the process of renewal in which Europe is engaged.

The Strategic Concept adopted by Heads of State and Government in Rome outlines a broad approach to secu- rity based on dialogue, cooperation and the maintenance of a collective defence capability. It integrates political and military elements of NATO's security policy into a coherent whole, establishing cooperation with new part- ners in Central and Eastern Europe as an integral part of the Alliance's strategy. The Concept provides for reduced dependence on nuclear weapons and major changes in NATO's integrated military forces, including substantial reductions in their size and readiness, improvements in their mobility, flexibility and adaptability to different contingencies and greater use of multinational form- ations. Measures are also being taken to streamline NATO's military command structure and to adapt the Alliance's defence planning arrangements and procedures in the light of the changed circumstances concerning security in Europe as a whole.

At the Rome Summit Meeting, NATO Heads of State and Government also issued an important Declaration on Peace and Cooperation. The Declaration set out the context for the Alliance's Strategic Concept. It defined the future tasks and policies of NATO in relation to the overall institutional framework for Europe's future secu- rity and in relation to the evolving partnership and cooper- ation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It reaffirmed the Alliance's commitment to strengthening the role of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, making specific suggestions for achieving this, and reaffirmed the consensus among the member coun- tries of the Alliance on the development of a European security identity and defence role. It underlined the Alli- ance's support for the steps being taken in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe towards reform; offered practical assistance to help them to succeed in this diffi- cult transition; invited them to participate in appropriate Alliance forums; and extended to them the Alliance's experience and expertise in political, military, economic and scientific consultation and cooperation.

A particularly significant step taken in this context was the establishment of a North Atlantic Cooperation Coun- cil (NACC) to oversee the future development of this partnership. Subsequent consultations and cooperation have been wide-ranging but have focussed in particular on political and security-related matters; conceptual ap- proaches to arms control and disarmament; defence plan- ning issues and military matters; democratic concepts of civilian-military relations; the conversion of defence pro- duction to civilian purposes; economic issues, defence expenditure and budgets; scientific cooperation and defence-related environmental issues; dissemination of in- formation about NATO in the countries of cooperation partners; policy planning consultations; and civil/military air traffic management.

The Rome Declaration also examined the progress achieved and specific opportunities available in the field of arms control and underlined the Alliance's adherence to a global view of security taking into account broader challenges which can affect security interests.

Since the publication of the Rome Declaration, addi- tional measures have been taken at Ministerial Meetings of Foreign and Defence Ministers held in December 1991 and at subsequent meetings, to further the process of adaptation and transformation on which the Alliance has embarked. The inaugural meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council took place on 20 December 1991 with the participation of the Foreign Ministers or repre- sentatives of NATO countries and of six Central and Eastern European countries as well as the three Baltic states. The role of the NACC is to facilitate cooperation on security and related issues between the participating coun- tries at all levels and to oversee the process of developing closer institutional ties as well as informal links between them. The eleven states on the territory of the former Soviet Union which now constitute the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) became participants in this process in March 1992. Georgia and Albania joined the process in April and June 1992 respectively. NATO is also playing a role in the coordination of humanitarian aid to these new states and is making available its unique expert- ise and capabilities for this purpose.

NATO Defence Ministers met with cooperation part- ners on 1 April 1992 to consider ways of deepening dialogue and promoting cooperation between them on issues falling within their competence. The Military Com- mittee held its first meeting in cooperation session on 10 April 1992. These meetings advanced the process of co- operation by offering practical advice and assistance and preparing an initial cooperation programme on defence- related matters. In parallel, contacts and cooperation are being developed between Ministries of Defence and at the military level. A Group on Defence Matters has been set up to act as a clearing house for requests for defence- related assistance from cooperation partners.

Dialogue, partnership and cooperation are described in more detail in Part II.

Against the background of the crisis in the former Yugoslavia and the violence taking place in Nagorno- Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and elsewhere, attention has also been directed increas- ingly towards possible NATO support for CSCE peace- keeping activities and its contributions to UN, CSCE and EC efforts with regard to Yugoslavia in particular. At the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Oslo in June 1992 agreement was reached on providing conditional support for CSCE peace-keeping activities on a case-by- case basis, including making available Alliance resources and expertise. In July a NATO maritime operation was mounted in the Adriatic, in coordination and cooperation with operations undertaken by the WEU, to monitor com- pliance with UN Security Council Resolutions imposing sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro. Following the London Conference on Yugoslavia at the end of August, deliberations in the Alliance focussed on the protection of humanitarian relief and support for UN monitoring of heavy weapons. Decisions were taken to make Alliance support available for these two tasks and to continue contingency planning on other options.