THIS IS
London
CALLING
NATO: Guardian of Peace?
S
oon after the conclusion of World War II, the victorious Allies formed a military counterbalance to resist the Soviet threat to Europe’s newly won peace. They called it the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and it is 70 years old this year. Since NATO’s establishment, Western Europe has enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and security. NATO has adapted itself to changing circumstances and widened its scope to include diplomatic and crisis resolution roles. Its membership has dramatically expanded from 12 to 29 countries and it has survived diverse threats to its survival. Untenable Future? This raises some important questions. With U.S. President Donald Trump insisting that reluctant NATO members should meet the agreed minimum contribution of two percent of their national budgets toward defence spending to support NATO operations, some are once again questioning the organisation’s ability to survive in its current form. Should the United States of America continue to shoulder the largest share of NATO military costs in order to secure Europe’s peace in the face of increased levels of Russian aggression? Should Europe be doing more to look after itself? What if the European Union decided to finance its own competitive military forces, if the U.S. were unwilling—or perhaps unable— due to more pressing issues in the Pacific? Will NATO always be there to guarantee the peace of Europe, or is there coming a time when there will be no more NATO? Biblical prophecy on this subject may well surprise you. The Bible points to a different and more lasting solution to the problems of Europe and the world. But before we
16 Tomorrow’s World | March-April 2019
look into the prophesied future, let’s first look at NATO’s past and present successes. Freedom and Security The main aim of NATO is to defend the freedom and security of its member nations, especially those in Europe. In 1948, the discussions leading to the NATO Alliance were prompted by the Soviet consolidation of power and influence in Eastern Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949, including the critical Article 5 for Collective Defence: An attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies. The 12 founding members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For decades during the Cold War, the NATO Alliance minimised conflict with the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact countries through the imminent threat of nuclear annihilation of both sides (the so-called MAD doctrine— Mutually Assured Destruction!). By the 1960s, with nuclear deterrents in place, NATO essentially recognised its existence was critical to ensuring U.S.-Soviet nuclear parity. With relative peace as a result of NATO’s protection, the nations of Europe were free to pursue closer economic, social, and political ties by forming the EU. Internal conflict within NATO hampered its responses to both the 1961 erection of the Berlin Wall and the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Such conflicts spurred NATO to develop and incorporate additional strategies to strengthen its military and diplomatic influence. NATO’s role expanded from “peace-keeping”—maintaining the status quo of the Cold War armed stand-off—to “peace-building” in a wider arena through
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