By Mirza Kashif Baig
It is often said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. This is only partially true. In fact, the Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deter Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April, 1949.
In the Treaty’s renowned Article 5, the new Allies agreed “an armed attack against one or more of them… shall be considered an attack against them all” and that following such an attack, each Ally would take “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force” in response. Significantly, Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty had important purposes not immediately germane to the threat of attack. Article 3 laid the foundation for cooperation in military preparedness between the Allies, and Article 2 allowed them some leeway to engage in non-military cooperation. While the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty had created Allies, it had not created a military structure that could effectively coordinate their actions. This changed when growing worries about Soviet intentions culminated in the Soviet detonation of an atomic bomb in 1949 and in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The effect upon the Alliance was dramatic.NATO soon gained a consolidated command structure with a military Headquarters based in the Parisian suburb of Rocquencourt, near Versailles. This was Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, or SHAPE, with US General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe, or SACEUR. Soon afterward, the Allies established a permanent civilian secretariat in Paris, and named NATO’s first Secretary-General, Lord Ismay of the United Kingdom and thus a military alliance came into being with the power to wreak havoc on the world. This is exactly what NATO has been doing in the name of eliminating terrorism and fighting evil. What few realize is that the evil that was NATO was portrayed to defend the world against is ‘NATO’ itself. NATO is a mere front of powerful countries led by the USA to ensure that the western powers get their way with the world. Being a consortium of powerful countries NATO doesn’t feel the need to justify its actions instead this western alliance does whatever it intends to do with zero fear of consequences. NATO’s agenda is not noble; in fact, this alliance serves the greed of the USA, UK, and European countries. This is clear from NATO’s intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Serbia, Kosovo, Somalia, and Libya. All these countries were much better off before NATO intervention but NATO intervened in them to advance the political agenda of the US, UK, and Israel, and after that these countries are still recovering from the devastation caused by NATO. Now, NATO has a sight set of South and East Asia as it has termed ‘China’ a systematic challenge indicating that NATO intends to extend its influence as far as the Pacific and this will not deem well for China and its allies, especially Pakistan. Steps, therefore, need to be taken by all regional powers to keep this menace at bay and not let it set foot in the region. NATO has ruined the world and has not contributed in welfare of human beings.
