Understanding NATO
Publisher: OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND PRESS
Volume: 5 pages, pdf
Descripton:
In the aftermath of the Second World War, East and West Europe found themselves separated by the ideological and political divisions of the Cold War. Eastern Europe fell under the domination of the Soviet Union. In 1949, twelve countries from both sides of the Atlantic formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.
Between 1947 and 1952, the Marshall Plan provided the means of stabilising Western European economies. NATO’s role as a political and military alliance was to provide for collective defence against any form of aggression and to maintain a secure environment for the development of democracy and economic growth. In the words of the then US President Harry S Truman, the Marshall Plan and NATO were “two halves of the same walnut”