Federation of Arab Republics Arab Islamic Republic
98-416: [REDACTED] United Arab States (1958–1961) [REDACTED] Arab Federation (1958) Post-Egyptian revolution After the death of Nasser Spoilers The Arab Cold War ( Arabic : الحرب العربية الباردة al-ḥarb al-`arabiyyah al-bāridah ) was a political rivalry in the Arab world from the early 1950s to the late 1970s and a part of the wider Cold War . It is generally accepted that
196-617: A close strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia under King Faisal, which was crucial to Egypt's success in the first part of the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Building on these early successes, Sadat completely distanced himself from Nasserism by ending Egypt's strategic alliance with the Soviet Union and aligning himself instead with the United States. In 1978, he negotiated a peace treaty with the state of Israel that required
294-524: A confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany with Gates calling on the latter to contribute more and the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict. In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause
392-713: A counterweight to Nasser's Arab socialism. This led to the creation of the Muslim World League , dedicated to spreading Islam and promoting Islamic solidarity. The League was effective in promoting conservative Wahhabi Islam and combating radical foreign ideologies, such as Arab socialism, in the Muslim world . The Islamic revival strengthened throughout the Arab world, especially after the Six-day War . After Nasser's death in 1970, his successor Anwar Sadat shifted
490-561: A major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure , while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent. The 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea led to strong condemnation by all NATO members, and was one of the seven times that Article 4 , which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during
588-631: A no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with Opération Harmattan by the French Air Force on 19 March. On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 , and additional ships and submarines from NATO members. They would "monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries ". On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of
686-759: A peaceful German reunification. A June 2016 Levada Center poll found that 68 percent of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland – former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia – is a threat to Russia. In contrast, 65 percent of Poles surveyed in a 2017 Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31 percent saying so across all NATO countries, and 67 percent of Poles surveyed in 2018 favour US forces being based in Poland. Of non- CIS Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016, all but Serbia and Montenegro were more likely than not to view NATO as
784-527: A protective alliance rather than a threat. A 2006 study in the journal Security Studies argued that NATO enlargement contributed to democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe. China also opposes further expansion. Member states pay for NATO's three common funds (the civil and military budgets and the security investment programme) based on a cost-sharing formula that includes per capita gross national income and other factors. In 2023–2024,
882-511: A quick-reaction force was deployed to the area. The Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia . The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, authorizing its member-states to enforce a previously declared no-fly zone under the United Nations Protection Force over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO complied and started enforcing
980-922: A red line . However, there were no such plans to deploy missiles in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry drafted a treaty that would forbid Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining NATO. Secretary-General Stoltenberg replied that the decision is up to Ukraine and NATO members, adding "Russia has no veto, Russia has no say, and Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors". NATO offered to improve communications with Russia and discuss missile placements and military exercises, as long as Russia withdrew troops from Ukraine's borders. Instead, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022 after Russia proclaimed it had annexed
1078-576: A short-lived federal union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic . Several other attempts were made to unite the Arab states in various configurations, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Following their independence in the early 1970s the monarchies of Saudi Arabia , Jordan and Morocco , as well as the Gulf states , formed an alliance to directly or indirectly counter Egyptian influence. Saudi Arabia and Jordan, previously rivals over
SECTION 10
#17327661512111176-683: A strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after
1274-636: A treaty. According to the treaty, Nasser would withdraw the 20,000 Egyptian troops from Yemen, Faisal would stop sending arms to the Yemeni royalists, and three neutral Arab states would send observers. Although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a smaller population than Egypt, it had oil wealth and prestige due to the cities of Mecca and Medina , Islam's two holiest cities . In 1962, Saudi Arabia sponsored an international Islamic conference in Mecca to use Islam as
1372-499: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO / ˈ n eɪ t oʊ / NAY -toh ; French : Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord , OTAN ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance , is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states —30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II ,
1470-573: The United Arab States . One reason for this decision was that, for a long time, Yemen had felt threatened by its considerably larger and more powerful northern neighbour, Saudi Arabia , and thus saw the confederation as a source of security. However, unlike the member countries of the United Arab Republic, North Yemen remained an independent sovereign state. It maintained its UN membership and separate embassies throughout
1568-532: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4. In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an extraordinary summit which also involved Group of Seven and European Union leaders. NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, and elements of
1666-744: The Army of the Republika Srpska , after the Srebrenica genocide . Further NATO air strikes helped bring the Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor , named IFOR . Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO countries in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into
1764-643: The Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty. French Algeria was, however, covered until its independence on 3 July 1962. Twelve of these thirty-two are original members who joined in 1949, while the other twenty joined in one of ten enlargement rounds. The three Nordic countries which joined NATO as founding members, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allows
1862-728: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land) , to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo. The campaign was and has been criticized over its civilian casualties , including the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade , and over whether it had legitimacy . The US,
1960-623: The Free Officers Movement of Libya, a group of rebel military officers led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi . In Saudi Arabia, some Saudi princes (led by Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz ) supported Nasser's cause of Arab socialism because of his popularity. In 1962 a Saudi air force pilot defected to Cairo . In 1965 and 1966 there were signs of unrest and subversion, particularly in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing region. In 1969,
2058-456: The Goražde safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US F-16 jets acting under NATO direction. In retaliation, Serbs took 150 U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April. On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces. In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force , began against
SECTION 20
#17327661512112156-682: The Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates , and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. During the Libyan Civil War , violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 , which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing
2254-640: The Iraq War and Syrian Civil War . At the 2014 Wales summit , the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their gross domestic products on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline. At the 2016 Warsaw summit , NATO countries agreed on the creation of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence , which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Before and during
2352-599: The NATO Response Force were activated for the first time in NATO's history. As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its 2,500-kilometre-long (1,550 mi) Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent Eurofighter Typhoons ,
2450-729: The North Atlantic Treaty to include member territory in Europe, North America, Turkey, and islands in the North Atlantic north of the Tropic of Cancer . Attacks on vessels, aircraft and other forces in the North Atlantic (again, north of the Tropic of Cancer) and the Mediterranean Sea may also provoke an Article 5 response. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as
2548-554: The Northwestern Syria offensive , which involved Syrian and suspected Russian airstrikes on Turkish troops , and risked direct confrontation between Russia and a NATO member. The 32 NATO members are: NATO has thirty-two members, mostly in Europe with two in North America. NATO's "area of responsibility", within which attacks on member states are eligible for an Article 5 response, is defined under Article 6 of
2646-781: The Partnership for Peace and the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative in 1994, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the NATO–Russia Permanent Joint Council in 1998. At the 1999 Washington summit , Hungary , Poland , and the Czech Republic officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized " Membership Action Plans ". These plans governed
2744-584: The Suez Crisis . Nasser emerged from the crisis with great prestige as the "unchallenged leader of Arab nationalism ". Nasser used various political tools to increase his visibility in the Arab world. These included radio programs such as Voice of the Arabs and the use of politically active Egyptian professionals, often teachers. In July 1958, the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was overthrown with
2842-626: The Syrian Civil War , after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet , and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria, and again in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity. In 2008 the United Nations Secretary-General called on member-states to protect the ships of Operation Allied Provider [ de ; no ; ru ; uk ] , which
2940-534: The Syrian civil war . In April 2012, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan considered invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty to protect Turkish national security in a dispute over the Syrian Civil War. The alliance responded quickly, and a spokesperson said the alliance was "monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so" and "takes it very seriously protecting its members." After
3038-513: The Trucial States were either under French colonial rule or British occupation. In 1960, Iraq , Tunisia , Algeria and North Yemen had republican governments or Arab nationalist insurgencies. Meanwhile, Lebanon was experiencing a near-civil war between US-allied government factions and Soviet- and Egyptian-allied Arab nationalist factions. The dates of the conflicts in this period vary from source to source. Jordanian sources date
Arab Cold War - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-617: The U.S. Space Force to maintain Pituffik Space Base , in Greenland. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism". Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains
3234-530: The United Arab Republic ( Egypt and Syria ) and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (North Yemen) from 1958 to 1961. The United Arab Republic was a sovereign state formed by the union of Egypt and Syria in 1958. The same year, the Kingdom of Yemen (North Yemen), which had already signed a defense pact with Egypt , joined with the new state on March 8, 1958, in a loose confederation called
3332-491: The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO, which acted on protecting regional security and started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999. Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then
3430-819: The Warsaw Pact , and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans , the Middle East , South Asia , and Africa . The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber ( Latin for 'a mind unfettered in deliberation'). The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence . NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels , Belgium, while NATO's military headquarters are near Mons , Belgium. The alliance has increased its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe, and
3528-880: The Warsaw Pact , as the vast majority of them belonged to the Non-Aligned Movement . The Arab Cold War was linked to the global confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union , as the United States supported the conservative monarchies led by Saudi Arabia, while the Soviet Union supported the Egyptian-led republics that adhered to Arab socialism . This was despite the republics' suppression of internal Arab communist movements . The Arab revolutionary nationalist republican movement supported anti-American , anti-Western , anti-imperialist , and anti-colonial revolutionary movements outside
3626-668: The Western Union . Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the Truman Doctrine promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the February 1948 coup d'état in Czechoslovakia . These talks resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by
3724-717: The collapse of the Afghan government as the greatest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding. In August 2004, during the Iraq War , NATO formed the NATO Training Mission – Iraq , a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US-led MNF-I . The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under
3822-476: The "real victors" of the war were the Arab "oil-exporting countries". Their embargo on Israel's Western allies helped the US to pressure Israel to limit its counter-offensive. The political success of the embargo enhanced the prestige of those who imposed it. In addition, the reduction in global oil supply caused the price of oil to rise from US$ 3 to almost $ 12 a barrel, increasing the revenues of oil exporters. This gave
3920-438: The 1979 Iranian Revolution . This established Shi'a Iran as a regional power committed to overthrowing the predominantly Sunni governments of Arab states, both republican and monarchical. After the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in the early 1980s, Egypt, still suspended from the Arab League, joined Saudi Arabia in supporting Sunni -led Iraq against Shi'ite Iran. At the same time, the Sunni-Shi'a conflict in other parts of
4018-554: The 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns. During the breakup of Yugoslavia , the organization conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999 . Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous Central and Eastern European states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including
Arab Cold War - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-492: The Arab oil-exporting states a dominant position within the Muslim world, with Saudi Arabia by far the largest exporter (see bar chart above). In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood , which was supported by Saudi Arabia and had been suppressed by the Egyptian government, was allowed to publish a monthly magazine and its political prisoners were gradually released. Islamists gained control of the universities, forcing left-wing and pan-Arab (anti-Sadat) student organizations underground. By
4214-415: The Arab world, such as the Cuban Revolution . In contrast, the Arab monarchist movement supported conservative governments in predominantly Muslim countries such as Pakistan . The Arab Cold War is thought to have ended in the late 1970s as a result of several factors. The success of the State of Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 undermined the strategic strength of both Egypt and Nasser. The resolution of
4312-429: The Arab world. He also opposed the monarchies' support of rentierism and Islamism . Later Nasser embraced the Palestinian cause, albeit within the framework of pan-Arabism. After Egypt's political victory in the 1956 Suez Crisis , known in the Arab world as the Tripartite Aggression , Nasser and his associated ideology quickly gained support in other Arab countries, from Iraq in the east to French-occupied Algeria in
4410-535: The Czech Republic officially joined, and NATO issued new guidelines for membership, with individualized " Membership Action Plans ". These plans governed the addition of new members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020. Finland and Sweden are the newest members, joining on 4 April 2023 and 7 March 2024 respectively, spurred on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine . Ukraine's relationship with NATO began with
4508-421: The ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan, and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country. On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition. Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into
4606-404: The NATO–Ukraine Action Plan in 2002. In 2010, under President Viktor Yanukovych , Ukraine re-affirmed its non-aligned status and renounced aspirations of joining NATO. During the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution , Russia occupied Crimea and supported armed separatists in eastern Ukraine . As a result, in December 2014 Ukraine's parliament voted to end its non-aligned status, and in 2019 it enshrined
4704-442: The Netherlands sent eight F-35 attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well. No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later
4802-529: The North Yemen Civil War, although brokered by Nasser and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, was a victory for the Egyptian-backed Yemeni Republicans. The intense Egyptian-Saudi rivalry faded dramatically as attention focused on Egypt's efforts to liberate its own territory under Israeli occupation. After Nasser's death in 1970, Anwar Sadat became president and departed significantly from Nasser's revolutionary platform, both domestically and in regional and international affairs. In particular, Sadat sought to establish
4900-459: The Saudi government uncovered a Nasserist plot involving 28 army officers, 34 air force officers, nine other military personnel and 27 civilians. In the early 1960s, Nasser sent an expeditionary army to Yemen to support the anti-monarchist forces in the North Yemen Civil War. The Yemeni royalists were supported by the monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. In December 1962, the Egyptian air force attacked Saudi border towns such as Najran . By
4998-419: The UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval. The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block
SECTION 50
#17327661512115096-432: The United Kingdom, and the United States. Four new members joined during the Cold War: Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955) and Spain (1982). Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , many former Warsaw Pact and post-Soviet states sought membership. In 1990, the territory of the former East Germany was added with the reunification of Germany . At the 1999 Washington summit , Hungary, Poland, and
5194-440: The United States and Germany were the biggest contributors with 16.2% each. Member states pay for and maintain their own troops and equipment. They contribute to NATO operations and missions by committing troops and equipment on a voluntary basis. Since 2006, the goal has been for each country to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on its own defence; in 2014, a NATO declaration said that countries not meeting
5292-413: The Western Union's military structures and plans, including their agreements on standardizing equipment and agreements on stationing foreign military forces in European countries. In 1952, the post of Secretary General of NATO was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO maritime exercises , Exercise Mainbrace and the accession of Greece and Turkey to
5390-506: The alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest , a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia. As of 2023 , around 4,500 KFOR soldiers, representing 27 countries, continue to operate in the area. The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history. The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation
5488-401: The alliance on 7 March 2024. In addition, NATO recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina , Georgia , and Ukraine as aspiring members. Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia , one of the 18 additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO. The Treaty of Dunkirk
5586-495: The area, to Kandahar , in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts. During its 2012 Chicago Summit , NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014. ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training Resolute Support Mission . On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May. Soon after
5684-400: The ascension of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as leader of Iran, is widely seen as the end of this period of internal conflicts and rivalry. A new era of Arab-Iranian tensions followed, overshadowing the bitterness of intra-Arab strife. Nasser espoused secular pan-Arab nationalism and socialism as a response to the perceived complicity of the Arab monarchies in Western interference in
5782-459: The ban on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight . From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no-fly zone. On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect
5880-417: The beginning of the Arab Cold War is marked by the Egyptian revolution of 1952 , which led to Gamal Abdel Nasser becoming president of Egypt in 1956. Thereafter, newly formed Arab republics, inspired by revolutionary secular nationalism and Nasser's Egypt , engaged in political rivalries with conservative traditionalist Arab monarchies, influenced by Saudi Arabia . The Iranian Revolution of 1979, and
5978-448: The beginning of the Arab Cold War to April 1957, while Palestinian sources identify the period from 1962 to 1967 as the most significant for them within a wider Arab context. The Free Officers Movement overthrew King Farouk during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 . Led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser , the Free Officers implemented a program to transform Egypt by reducing feudalism , ending British influence and abolishing
SECTION 60
#17327661512116076-629: The collapse of the Warsaw Pact in February 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union that December, which removed the de facto main adversaries of NATO. This began a drawdown of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000 pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years, and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015. In 1990, several Western leaders gave assurances to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations. In
6174-590: The combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5 million soldiers and personnel. All member states together cover an area of 25.07 million km (9.68 million sq. mi.) with a population of about 973 million people. Their combined military spending as of 2022 constituted around 55 percent of the global nominal total . Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024. NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members ten times, most recently when Sweden joined
6272-427: The competing claims of their respective dynasties, worked closely together to support the royalist faction in the North Yemen Civil War . The conflict became a proxy war between Egypt and Saudi Arabia following the establishment of the Nasserist Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. The term "Arab Cold War" was first used by Malcolm H. Kerr , an American political scientist and Middle East scholar, in his 1965 book of
6370-421: The country's southeast . Georgia was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest, but US president Barack Obama said in 2014 that the country was not "currently on a path" to membership. Russia continued to politically oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with informal understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and US negotiators that allowed for
6468-481: The demise of NATO. The German foreign ministry pointed to "a considerable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama. While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day (10 June) announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August. Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs. The following week,
6566-496: The end of the 1960s, Nasser's prestige had declined due to the political failure of the union between Egypt and Syria , military setbacks in Yemen, where the civil war reached a stalemate despite his commitment of thousands of troops to overthrow the monarchists, and especially against Israel, where Egypt lost the Sinai Peninsula and suffered the loss of 10,000 to 15,000 troops in the Six-Day War . In late 1967, Egyptian President Nasser and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal signed
6664-416: The end of the 1970s, Sadat described himself as 'The Believer President '. He banned most alcohol sales and ordered Egyptian state television to interrupt programs in order to broadcast the salat (Islamic call to prayer) five times a day and to increase religious programming. United Arab States The United Arab States ( UAS , Arabic : اتحاد الدول العربية ) was a short-lived confederation of
6762-403: The first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area. ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban , al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai . In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of
6860-427: The focus to religion and economic liberalization, away from Arab nationalism and socialism. Egypt's military slogan "Land, Sea and Air" was replaced by the Islamic battle cry of Allahu Akbar in the perceived "shattering" defeat in the Yom Kippur War . Although the October 1973 war was launched by Egypt and Syria to recover land captured by Israel in 1967, according to French political scientist Gilles Kepel ,
6958-494: The goal of NATO membership in the Constitution . At the June 2021 Brussels Summit , NATO leaders affirmed that Ukraine would eventually join the Alliance, and supported Ukraine's right to self-determination without interference. In late 2021, there was another massive Russian military buildup near Ukraine's borders. On 30 November, Russian president Putin said Ukraine joining NATO, and the deployment of missile defense systems or long-range missiles in Ukraine, would be crossing
7056-572: The goal would "aim to move towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade". In July 2022, NATO estimated that 11 members would meet the target in 2023. On 14 February 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that 18 member states would meet the 2% target in 2024. On 17 June 2024, prior to the 2024 Washington summit , Stoltenberg updated that figure and announced that a record 23 of 32 NATO member states were meeting their defense spending targets of 2% of their country's GDP. NATO added that defense spending for European member states and Canada
7154-936: The head of the Royal Navy said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable. By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets. A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign. Following a coup d'état attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues. Use of Article 5 has been threatened multiple times and four out of seven official Article 4 consultations have been called due to spillover in Turkey from
7252-600: The member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson was a key author and drafter of the treaty. The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the Korean War initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of
7350-540: The monarchy and aristocracy. In 1953 they established Egypt as a republic. On 26 July 1956, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal after Britain and the United States withdrew their offer to finance the construction of the Aswan Dam in response to Egypt's new relationship with the Soviet Union. Britain and France then made a pact with Israel to invade Egypt together, but were forced to back down in what became known as
7448-413: The monarchy removed and replaced by an Arab nationalist republic. As a result, the king, crown prince, prime minister and most of the royal family was killed by the nationalist revolutionaries. At the time, the forces supportive to Nasser and nationalism seemed to be gaining strength, while the older Arab monarchies seemed to be in danger. In 1969, the Kingdom of Libya under King Idris was overthrown by
7546-520: The no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces. NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member states were participating in combat operations, resulting in
7644-560: The only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and, unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance. NATO was established on 4 April 1949 by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (Washington Treaty). The 12 founding members of the alliance were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
7742-519: The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty , signed in Washington, D.C. , on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War , NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union . The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and
7840-692: The organization. Following the London and Paris Conferences , West Germany was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact , delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War . The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000 US troops were stationed in Europe. Doubts over
7938-502: The provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 . The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the country. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the North Atlantic Council . Its operational emphasis
8036-452: The region, such as Lebanon , became a new proxy conflict between the regional powers of the two Muslim sects. In 1956, only Egypt , Syria , Lebanon , Tunisia , and Sudan were republics. All of these Arab states subscribed to some degree to Arab nationalist ideology. Jordan and Iraq were both ruled by Hashemite monarchies. Morocco , Libya , Saudi Arabia and North Yemen had independent dynasties. Algeria , South Yemen , Oman and
8134-591: The removal of all Israeli military personnel and settlers from Egyptian land. Sadat's peace treaty not only alienated Nasserists and other secular Arab nationalists, but also enraged Islamists, who denounced him as an apostate. This eventually led to his assassination by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad in 1981 . Egypt was suspended from the Arab League , leading to its virtual isolation in the region. Meanwhile, Islamism grew in popularity, culminating in
8232-535: The same name and subsequent editions. Despite its name, the Arab Cold War was not a conflict between capitalist and communist economic systems. In fact, all Arab governments, with the exception of the Marxist government of South Yemen , explicitly rejected communism and banned the activities of communist activists within their territories. Moreover, the Arab states did not seek membership of either NATO or
8330-590: The security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001. The alliance showed unity: on 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two countries leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked
8428-576: The shooting down of a Turkish military jet by Syria in June 2012 and Syrian forces shelling Turkish cities in October 2012 resulting in two Article 4 consultations, NATO approved Operation Active Fence . In the past decade the conflict has only escalated. In response to the 2015 Suruç bombing , which Turkey attributed to ISIS , and other security issues along its southern border, Turkey called for an emergency meeting . The latest consultation happened in February 2020, as part of increasing tensions due to
8526-618: The smaller SFOR , which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto the European Union Force Althea . Following the lead of its member states, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal , for these operations. In an effort to stop Slobodan Milošević 's Serbian-led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo ,
8624-512: The strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966. In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance. The Revolutions of 1989 in Europe led to
8722-537: The strike on Yugoslavia , and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management. Milošević finally accepted
8820-674: The subsequent addition of new alliance members. Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty , requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks , after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF . The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq , assisting in counter-piracy operations . The election of French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 led to
8918-511: The terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War . On 11 June, Milošević further accepted UN resolution 1244 , under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence. In August–September 2001,
9016-400: The west. In several Arab countries, such as Iraq , North Yemen and Libya , conservative regimes were overthrown and replaced by revolutionary republican governments. Meanwhile, Arab countries under Western occupation, such as Algeria and South Yemen , experienced nationalist uprisings aimed at national liberation. At the same time, Syria, which was already strongly Arab nationalist, formed
9114-402: The whole period of confederation. Neither the union nor the confederation fulfilled their role as vehicles of pan-Arabism or Arab nationalism , as they were dissolved in 1961. This Middle East location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This African location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Asia location article
9212-470: The withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government , quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan Armed Forces . By 15 August 2021, Taliban militants controlled the vast majority of Afghanistan and had encircled the capital city of Kabul . Some politicians in NATO member states have described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and
9310-483: Was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour , a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance
9408-574: Was distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. The North Atlantic Council and other countries, including Russia, China and South Korea, formed Operation Ocean Shield . The operation sought to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and to increase the general level of security in the region. Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in
9506-568: Was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011. Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War . Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during
9604-550: Was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947, during the aftermath of World War II and the start of the Cold War , as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of possible attacks by Germany or the Soviet Union . In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the Treaty of Brussels to include the Benelux countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as
#210789