Fire & Blood
NATO: A Grizzly Tale
Written by: Nkululeko Zokufa
The aftermath of World War II brought not only devastation but fear to the world. Most of Europe was in ruins and the its economy had collapsed. The time for nation-building and political restructuring for most of Europe and Japan had come. The world saw a rise of new powers and the United States of America (USA) and what was known as Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) were the two nations at the top.
Both nations had suffered during World War II. America emerged from the war with minor casualties and a rampant economy as opposed to Russia, which suffered immeasurably. Despite this, both nations had developed immense military structures with the U.S. the leading military power and only nuclear state in the world (until the Rosenbergs gave the Soviets the bomb in 1947). Even so, Russia had already occupied most of Eastern Europe and North Asia, brutally administering its socialist/communist ways.
The U.S. economy dominated the world and the U.S. offered to help rebuild Europe, instituting the Marshal Plan in 1947.
Communist Russia saw the USA’s efforts to rebuild Europe and Japan after World War II as an expansion of capitalist market and feared that the U.S. wanted to use its money and power to dominate Europe. On the other hand, the U.S. feared that the USSR wanted to destroy democratic and capitalist institutions, thus ending their hopes of a ‘free’ world. The U.S. then partnered with 11 other nations and formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949.
(NATO) is a bloc of European and North American states. According to NATO’s website, their aim is to ‘safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means’. NATO intends to do this using the North Atlantic Treaty (NAT) which serves as the bloc’s pivotal point and the Membership Action plan (MAP), which is NATO’s ‘programme of advice, assistance and practical support tailored to the individual needs of countries wishing to join the Alliance’. They have a total of 28 members so far and membership is available to ‘any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area’.
In 1950, NATO developed a military structure in response to the apparent threat posed by communist countries working together after the onset of the Korean War (1950-1953) and the detonation of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union on the 29 August 1949). The headquarters for this military structure was based in Rocquencourt, Paris and named nicknamed ‘SHAPE’, which is an acronym for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was designated the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). NATO also opened a civilian base in Paris and named British Lord Ismay as its first Secretary General.
Things appeared to be going well for Europe: despite the Cold War, development progressed. In 1952, Greece and Turkey decided to join NATO and were followed by West Germany in 1955. This saw the Soviet Union launch one of the Cold War’s most dramatic schemes by requesting to join NATO but this offer was declined. Soon after Germany joined NATO, the Warsaw Pact was formed in Poland to counter NATO. The USSR lead the Eastern European Alliance. Its initial members were East Germany, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Albania, but Albania was later expelled from the pact. The Cold War created a rivalry between members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact and in 1961 things got tense when the Berlin wall got built - the wall cut off East and West Berlin.
In 1966, things changed when France withdrew from NATO, claiming that the U.S. had violated the 1949 Act. After the split, things remained constant for NATO until the ‘80s. In 1982, Spain joined the group. The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and Communism led to the end of the Cold War, which was great not just NATO but for everyone (including South Africa as it arguably prompted the end of Apartheid).
Three years after the Cold War, NATO led its first military action to see the end of unrest. It intervened in in Bosnia and later in Yugoslavia in 1999. In the same year, former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the organisation.
In 2001, an attack against NATO caused the organisation to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the first time ever. Article 5 states that an attack against a member of NATO is an attack against all members of NATO and members are obliged to take necessary action. In September 11, 2001, two aeroplanes crashed into the World Trade Centre in the USA and NATO deployed troops in Afghanistan.
In 2004, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Bulgaria joined NATO. In 2009, Croatia and Albania joined NATO. Since then, the organisation has been involved in various operations to restore peace and order in the North Atlantic region and beyond.
In November 2013, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a deal with the European Union, thus sparking protests in the capital - Kiev. According to The Guardian, Yanukovych ‘ordered the suspension of preparations for the pact between Kiev and Brussels after talks between the Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers – and after Yanukovych's party in parliament rejected six bills aimed at meeting the EU's terms’. The resultant protests left dozens at least 29 people dead and over 200 injured. Yanukovych disappeared only to reappear days later in Russia.
Russian troops marched into Ukraine, taking over government buildings in the Crimea. At first, Russia denied sending troops into the country but later admitted that the troops were sent to protect Russian-speakers if necessary.
According to NATO’s Secretary General Anders Forg Rusmassen, NATO has ‘taken a two-track decision. This is done by way of suspending all practical co-operation with Russia and preparing for anything that can happen’.
Addressing media at NATO’s resident palace in Brussels, Belgium, Rusmassen said they will take any necessary measures to dissolve conflict in the Ukraine: “We have already taken immediate measures: more planes in the air, more ships at sea, and more exercises on the ground. We have deployed AWACS surveillance planes over Poland and Romania and we have reinforced our air-policing mission in the Baltic region.” He added: “I have seen them in action, and they are doing a remarkable job. Allies have reinforced our naval presence from the Baltic to the Black Sea and deployed troops to participate in training and exercises. Right now, around 6 000 troops from across NATO are taking part in exercise Steadfast Javelin in Estonia. This is a significant exercise, aiming to test our ability to repel an attack against an ally. It includes infantry, fighter jets and also a cyber-security team. This exercise was planned long before the current crisis, but it is a good example of the steps we are taking to bolster our forces and their readiness.”
Rusmassen concluded, “NATO has suggested a new meeting in the NATO-Russia Council maybe to be held next week. But so far we haven't heard from the Russians. So we are open to a political dialogue.”
NATO has been fighting to keep the North Atlantic peaceful for the past six and a half decades and they’re doing a satisfactory job. Imagine if Africa had such an organisation. We need something like NATO to help restore peace in Africa. Whilst NATO comprises of European and American states, Africans have nothing as effective. Could the African Union could learn a thing or two?