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isstillthemostsuccessfulandpowerfulmilitaryallianceintheworld.
Onecanstartwiththehistoricallegacyofdefendingthealliesagainst
thethreatofSovietaggressionduringtheColdWar,andNATO’s
contributioninthe1990stobuildingaEurope“whole,free,and
atpeace”throughforgingnewpartnerships,outofareaoperations
intheBalkans,andenlargement.Thenextimportantassetistheclear
legalfoundationofthejointeffortsintheformoftheWashington
Treaty,andcruciallyArticle5,thecollectivedefenceclause,which
wasinvokedand“tested”intheaftermathofthe9/11terroristattacks
againsttheUnitedStates.Thepoliticaldimensionisequallyimportant.
ThetransatlanticbondremainsthecrucialsourceofNATO’sstrength,
withtheUnitedStates,CanadaandtheEuropeanalliessharingthe
samesetofvaluesandbeingabletoagreeonabasicconvergence
ofinterests,despitethevarietyofperspectiveswithinthealliance.
Aspecificcultureofconsultationandcompromisehasalsohelped
tonavigatetheNATOboatthroughoutitshistory.
TakentheflurryofalarmistdataaboutthespendingcutsinEurope
andsharpincreasesinthemilitaryexpendituresofRussia,Chinaand
otherAsianandMiddleEastcountries,itremainsimportanttopoint
outthattheNATOcountriesarestillspendingmoreondefencethan
therestoftheworldcombined(NATO28accountsforapproximately
60%ofworld’sexpendituresaccordingtothelatestfiguresfrom
SIPRI).SixNATOcountries(theUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,
France,Germany,ItalyandTurkey)remainamongthetop15spenders
globally.NATOforceshaveattheirdisposalafullrangeofdeterrence
andwar-fightingcapabilities,includingmorethanthreemillion
personnel,900ships,over14,000aircraft(includinghelicopters),and
14,000mainbattletanks—notforgettingthenuclearforcesofthe
UnitedStates,FranceandtheUnitedKingdom.Atthelevelofthe
organisationitself,andthusoftenbelowtheradarofpoliticalanalysts,
remainstheuniquemachineryofNATOdefenceandoperational
planning,aswellasthemulti-nationalcommandandcontrolstructure
withapoolofcommonassets(suchastheAWACSfleetand
MDcommandandcontrol).NATOstates’armedforceshavebeen
testednotonlyinexercises,butalsoincombat—including
indemandingtheatressuchasAfghanistanandLibya.Finally,NATO
hasdevelopedanimpressivewebofpartners(bothstatesand
internationalorganisations),someofwhichhavemadesignificant
contributionstoNATOoperations.
