NATO (NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION)
After World War II, the world had been decimated and was in desperate need of rebuilding. The main problem in this venture was that there was seemingly two primary methods on how to do this, and nearly every major power swayed towards one or the other. There was the Communist eastern bloc of the world that was led by the Soviet Union, and a group of Western nations, headed by the United States, Great Britain, and France that were promoting democracy. The Soviet Union began implementing pro-Soviet governments in many of the war torn areas that had been seized from Nazi control. The United States and friends wanted to counteract this action which led to the Marshall Plan which was inducted in 1947. This plan was designed to aid war-damaged countries in terms of their economy and infrastructures with the goal being to keep these countries supportive of the democratic agenda.
The Cold War had begun, and with it came the turn from traditional reconstruction swaying to a more militaristic approach. The Soviet Union expansion was in full effect after they were able to overthrow the democratic government of Czechoslovakia. Within a few days the United State would organize a meeting to discuss a joint security agreement with their European allies. After a year of discussions and dealing, the foreign leaders of 12 countries met in Washington D.C. to sign the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The group that included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States were signing this document which essentially said that an attack on any of them, would be considered an attack on all of them. Others would join over the next forty years, as it created a sense of stability for all involved.
Clearly seeing this as a threat to their military standing, the Soviet Union issued their own version of NATO with the Warsaw Pact six years later after the forming and arming of West Germany upon their admittance into NATO. The Warsaw pact headed by the Soviet Union also included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The two treaty organizations escalated the Cold War to a level no one was hoping it reached to. The world was on the brink of World War III with an attack on any of about twenty powerful countries being the trigger.
Today, NATO is seen as the strongest military alliance that the world has ever seen. Montenegro joined in June of 2017, bringing the total number of members to 29. The leaders of each member country meet regularly to discuss issues and policies in relation to security and defenses for potential threats to any member country. The organization is essentially the protector of the world, as armies made up of civilians of every country defend and aid countries that are in need during potential or real crisis’. Although many think it needs to be restricted for modern times, very few seriously deny that positive benefit that comes from being in such a strong alliance. NATO has been seeking world peace for 68 years, and has been a successful influence on world peace advocates worldwide.