163-684: The Nuclear Planning Group was established in December 1966 to allow better communication, consultation and involvement among NATO member nations to deal with matters related to nuclear policy issues. During the period of the Cold War , NATO members recognized the need for incorporation of nuclear weapons as part of their defense strategy. Because of the lack of information sharing caused by restrictive US nuclear information sharing policy, many attempts were made to increase US–NATO communication and information sharing in relation to nuclear weapons such as
326-527: A "drafting officer". He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in December 1932 and appointed Head of the Third Section (operations). His service at SGDN gave him six years' experience of the interface between army planning and government, enabling him to take on ministerial responsibilities in 1940. After studying arrangements in the US, Italy, and Belgium, de Gaulle drafted a bill for the organisation of
489-461: A Professional Army ). He proposed mechanization of the infantry, with stress on an élite force of 100,000 men and 3,000 tanks. The book imagined tanks driving around the country like cavalry. De Gaulle's mentor Emile Mayer was somewhat more prophetic than he was about the future importance of air power on the battlefield. Such an army would both compensate for France's population shortage, and be an efficient tool to enforce international law, particularly
652-453: A bayonet wound to the left thigh after being stunned by a shell and was captured after passing out from the effects of poison gas. He was one of the few survivors of his battalion. The circumstances of his capture would later become a subject of debate as anti-Gaullists spread rumour that he had actually surrendered, a claim de Gaulle nonchalantly dismissed. De Gaulle spent 32 months in six different prisoner camps, but he spent most time in
815-668: A capitalist economy, which was followed by 30 years of unprecedented growth, known as the Trente Glorieuses . He resigned in 1946, but continued to be politically active as founder of the Rally of the French People . He retired in the early 1950s and wrote his War Memoirs , which quickly became a staple of modern French literature. When the Algerian War threatened to bring the unstable Fourth Republic to collapse,
978-548: A career as a writer and historian, partly to please his father and partly because it was one of the few unifying forces which represented the whole of French society. He later wrote that "when I entered the Army, it was one of the greatest things in the world", a claim which Lacouture points out needs to be treated with caution: the army's reputation was at a low. It was used extensively for strike-breaking and there were fewer than 700 applicants for Saint-Cyr in 1908, down from 2,000 at
1141-723: A child when she heard of the French capitulation to the Germans at Sedan in 1870 , he developed a keen interest in military strategy. He was also influenced by his uncle, also named Charles de Gaulle , who was a historian and passionate Celticist who advocated the union of the Welsh, Scots, Irish, and Bretons into one people. His grandfather Julien-Philippe was also a historian, and his grandmother Joséphine-Marie wrote poems which impassioned his Christian faith. De Gaulle began writing in his early teens, especially poetry; his family paid for
1304-663: A composition, a one-act verse play, to be privately published. A voracious reader, he favored philosophical tomes by such writers as Bergson , Péguy , and Barrès . In addition to the German philosophers Nietzsche , Kant , and Goethe , he read the works of the ancient Greeks (especially Plato ) and the prose of Chateaubriand . De Gaulle was educated in Paris at the Collège Stanislas and studied briefly in Belgium. At
1467-524: 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
1630-577: A consensus is reached upon an agenda item, a report will be created for which the Permanent Representatives and ministerial levels can later discuss. The Staff Group is chaired by the Nuclear Planning Directorate. This directorate is composed of members of NATO 's International Staff who are often experienced in regard to nuclear planning. The director has consistently been an American. From the military side,
1793-693: A dedication to Pétain (although he wrote his own rather than using the draft Pétain sent him), which was dropped from postwar editions. Until 1938 Pétain had treated de Gaulle, as Lacouture puts it, "with unbounded good will", but by October 1938 he privately thought his former protégé "an ambitious man, and very ill-bred". At the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle was put in command of the French Fifth Army 's tanks (five scattered battalions, largely equipped with R35 light tanks ) in Alsace. On 12 September 1939 he attacked at Bitche , simultaneously with
SECTION 10
#17327657673551956-413: A laundry basket, digging a tunnel, digging through a wall, and even posing as a nurse. In letters to his parents, he constantly spoke of his frustration that the war was continuing without him. As the war neared its end, he grew depressed that he was playing no part in the victory, but he remained in captivity until the armistice . On 1 December 1918, three weeks later, he returned to his father's house in
2119-561: 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
2282-519: A manner similar to what de Gaulle had advocated). A rare insight into de Gaulle's political views is a letter to his mother warning that war with Germany was inevitable and reassuring her that Pierre Laval 's pact with the USSR in 1935 was for the best, likening it to Francis I 's alliance with the Turks against Emperor Charles V . From April 1936, whilst still in his staff position at SGDN, de Gaulle
2445-747: A member of the International Military Staff such as a naval captain or colonel will be involved in Staff Group sessions. Although not directly part of the Nuclear Planning Group, the High Level Group is heavily associated with it. Established in 1977 and led by the United States , this group involves meetings of high-ranking officials from the capitals of NATO members. The High Level Group
2608-631: 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
2771-500: A nuclear war. The concept of ADMS has been argued by some scholars like Thomas Legge as controversial, due to how it would have to be deployed at the early stages of a conflict in order for it to be effective. At the same time, the Nuclear Planning Group continued to show interest in ADMS as they believed that it was a favourable defensive strategy. After a lot of research and discussion, the Nuclear Planning Group deemed ADMs to be under
2934-524: A parade of 80 tanks into the Place d'Armes at Metz, in his command tank " Austerlitz ". By now de Gaulle was becoming a well-known figure, known as "Colonel Motor(s)". At the invitation of the publisher Plon , he produced another book, La France et son Armée (France and Her Army) in 1938. De Gaulle incorporated much of the text he had written for Pétain a decade earlier for the uncompleted book Le Soldat , to Pétain's displeasure. De Gaulle agreed to include
3097-759: 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
3260-458: A platoon commander, de Gaulle was involved in fierce fighting from the outset. He received his baptism of fire on 15 August and was among the first to be wounded, receiving a bullet in the knee at the Battle of Dinant . It is sometimes claimed that in hospital, he grew bitter at the tactics used, and spoke with other injured officers against the outdated methods of the French army. However, there
3423-527: 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,
SECTION 20
#17327657673553586-455: A question about supplies, replying "de minimis non curat praetor " (roughly: "a leader does not concern himself with trivia") before ordering the responsible officer to answer Moyrand. He obtained respectable, but not outstanding grades on many of his assessments. Moyrand wrote in his final report that he was "an intelligent, cultured and serious-minded officer; has brilliance and talent" but criticised him for not deriving as much benefit from
3749-511: 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
3912-922: 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
4075-554: A rotating group of non-permanent members. However, this rotational structure was terminated in November 1979. In its early years, the Nuclear Planning Group focused on solving two major problems: Atomic Demolition Munitions (ADMS) and Theatre Nuclear Forces (TNF). ADMS are nuclear land mines that were thought to be effective for limiting collateral damage meanwhile TNFs was a method to store nuclear weapons in Europe for preparation for
4238-583: 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
4401-515: A two-year posting to Lebanon and Syria . In Beirut he was chief of the 3rd Bureau (military operations) of General Louis-Paul-Gaston de Bigault du Granrut, who wrote him a glowing reference recommending him for high command. In the spring of 1931, as his posting in Beirut drew to a close, de Gaulle once again asked Pétain for a posting to the École de Guerre . Pétain tried to obtain an appointment for him as Professor of History there, but once again
4564-641: Is little information disclosed to the public regarding the Nuclear Planning Group's current initiatives due to the sensitivity of nuclear weapons . Public opinion on the efficacy of the Nuclear Planning Group is quite mixed and polarized due to the sensitive nature of nuclear discussions. Despite that, the Nuclear Planning Group has included non-nuclear powers in the NATO alliance to contribute regarding nuclear matters. Scholar Robert Krone argues that considering both political and military inter-groups within NATO has allowed
4727-626: Is no contemporary evidence that he understood the importance of artillery in modern warfare. Instead, in his writing at the time, he criticised the "overrapid" offensive, the inadequacy of French generals, and the "slowness of the English troops". He rejoined his regiment in October, as commander of the 7th company . Many of his former comrades were already dead. In December he became regimental adjutant . De Gaulle's unit gained recognition for repeatedly crawling out into no man's land to listen to
4890-538: Is thought to be Dutch in origin, and may have derived from van der Walle , de Walle ("from the rampart, defensive wall") or de Waal ("the wall") De Gaulle's mother, Jeanne (born Maillot), descended from a family of wealthy entrepreneurs from Lille. She had French, Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry. De Gaulle's father encouraged historical and philosophical debate between his children, and through his encouragement, de Gaulle learned French history from an early age. Struck by his mother's tales of how she cried as
5053-504: Is unlikely that he stood out among the 19 captains and 32 lieutenants under his command. De Gaulle would have been present at the 1913 Arras manoeuvres, at which Pétain criticised General Gallet [ fr ] to his face, but there is no evidence in his notebooks that he accepted Pétain's unfashionable ideas about the importance of firepower against the dominant doctrine emphasizing " offensive spirit ". De Gaulle stressed how Maurice de Saxe had banned volley fire, how French armies of
NATO Nuclear Planning Group - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-547: The École Normale Supérieure , and to civil servants. Pétain instead advised him to apply for a posting to the Secrétariat Général du Conseil Supérieur de la Défense Nationale (SGDN – General Secretariat of the Supreme War Council) in Paris. Pétain promised to lobby for the appointment, which he thought would be good experience for him. De Gaulle was posted to SGDN in November 1931, initially as
5379-532: 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
5542-515: The 33rd Infantry Regiment [ fr ] of the French Army , based at Arras. This was a historic regiment with Austerlitz , Wagram , and Borodino amongst its battle honours. In April 1910 he was promoted to corporal. His company commander declined to promote him to sergeant, the usual rank for a potential officer, commenting that the young man clearly felt that nothing less than Constable of France would be good enough for him. He
5705-668: The Algerian War , he came out of retirement when appointed Prime Minister by President René Coty . He rewrote the Constitution of France and founded the Fifth Republic after approval by referendum . He was elected President of France later that year, a position he held until his resignation in 1969. Born in Lille , he was a decorated officer of the First World War , wounded several times and taken prisoner by
5868-744: 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
6031-643: 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
6194-675: The Dordogne to be reunited with his three brothers, who had all also served in the army. After the armistice, de Gaulle served with the staff of the French Military Mission to Poland as an instructor of Poland's infantry during its war with communist Russia (1919–1921). He distinguished himself in operations near the River Zbrucz , with the rank of major in the Polish army, and won Poland's highest military decoration,
6357-728: 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,
6520-456: 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
6683-732: 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
NATO Nuclear Planning Group - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-536: The Ingolstadt Fortress , where his treatment was satisfactory. In captivity, de Gaulle read German newspapers (he had learned German at school and spent a summer vacation in Germany) and gave talks on his view of the conflict to fellow prisoners. His patriotic fervour and confidence in victory earned him the nickname Le Connétable (" The Constable "), the title of the medieval commander-in-chief of
7009-411: The International Military Staff . Underneath the Permanent Representatives level is the Staff Group. This level involves members of the national delegations of member countries. Proposals and other items on the agenda for the Nuclear Planning Group discussions are deliberated upon here first. As such, this level is responsible for a majority of the documentational work at the Nuclear Planning Group. When
7172-640: 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
7335-440: The NATO members’ capitals be more involved in nuclear discussion. The High Level Group remains an advisory organization to the Nuclear Planning Group regarding nuclear planning and policymaking, and is also engaged in discussions involving nuclear weapons security and safety. Reports of discussions are created and given to the defense ministers, who are involved in the ministerial level of the Nuclear Planning Group. Currently, all
7498-548: 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 ,
7661-498: The Napoleonic period had relied on infantry column attack, and how French military power had declined in the nineteenth century because of – supposedly – excessive concentration on firepower rather than élan . He also appears to have accepted the then fashionable lesson drawn from the recent Russo-Japanese War , of how bayonet charges by Japanese infantry with high morale had succeeded in the face of enemy firepower. De Gaulle
7824-758: The National Assembly brought him back to power during the May 1958 crisis . He founded the Fifth Republic with a strong presidency; he was elected with 78% of the vote to continue in that role. He managed to keep France together while taking steps to end the war, much to the anger of the Pieds-Noirs ( ethnic Europeans born in Algeria ) and the armed forces. He granted independence to Algeria and acted progressively towards other French colonies. In
7987-729: 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
8150-554: 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
8313-781: 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
SECTION 50
#17327657673558476-437: The Saar Offensive . At the start of October 1939, Reynaud asked for a staff posting under de Gaulle, but remained at his post as Minister of Finance. De Gaulle's tanks were inspected by President Lebrun , who was impressed, but regretted that it was too late to implement his ideas. He wrote a paper L'Avènement de la force mécanique (The coming of the Armoured Force) which he sent to General Georges (commander-in-chief on
8639-420: 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
8802-415: 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
8965-521: The Treaty of Versailles . He also thought it would be a precursor to a deeper national reorganisation, and wrote that "a master has to make his appearance [...] whose orders cannot be challenged – a man upheld by public opinion". Only 700 copies were sold in France; the claim that thousands of copies were sold in Germany is thought to be an exaggeration. De Gaulle used the book to widen his contacts among journalists, notably with André Pironneau, editor of L'Écho de Paris . The book attracted praise across
9128-410: 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
9291-427: The US intervention in Vietnam and the " exorbitant privilege " of the US dollar. In his later years, his support for the slogan " Vive le Québec libre " and his two vetoes of Britain's entry into the European Economic Community generated considerable controversy in both North America and Europe. Although reelected to the presidency in 1965 , he faced widespread protests by students and workers in May 68 but had
9454-460: The United Kingdom and the United States . In the 2008 French White Paper on Defense and National Security, France argued that its nuclear forces are completely independent and will not participate in the group. For that reason, France is not an official member of the Nuclear Planning Group. Historically, meetings of the Nuclear Planning Group would involve four permanent members ( United Kingdom , United States , Italy , and West Germany ) and
9617-415: The United Nations . The speech directly led to changes to the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 This act was later known as the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and eased restrictions on nuclear information sharing. The development of the US-NATO Information Agreement also allowed for greater sharing of information. In addition to these policy changes, even more initiatives were taken to advance nuclear sharing. After
9780-405: 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
9943-418: The Virtuti Militari . De Gaulle returned to France, where he became a lecturer in military history at Saint-Cyr. He studied at the École de Guerre (staff college) from November 1922 to October 1924. Here he clashed with his instructor Colonel Moyrand by arguing for tactics based on circumstances rather than doctrine, and after an exercise in which he had played the role of commander, he refused to answer
SECTION 60
#173276576735510106-423: 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
10269-417: The aftermath of World War II , 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
10432-417: The amendment of the Atomic Energy Act , the US–NATO Information Agreement, and the proposal of the Multilateral Force (MLF). Eventually, the Nuclear Planning Group was established as a finalized effort to deal with nuclear information sharing issues. There are three main levels to the Nuclear Planning Group. These are the ministerial level of the Nuclear Planning Group, the Permanent Representatives Group, and
10595-403: 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
10758-554: 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
10921-405: The Army's support and won a snap election with an increased majority in the National Assembly. De Gaulle resigned in 1969 after losing a referendum in which he proposed more decentralisation. He died a year later at the age of 79, leaving his presidential memoirs unfinished. Many French political parties and leaders claim a Gaullist legacy; many streets and monuments in France and other parts of
11084-535: 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
11247-407: The Free French Forces and later headed the French National Liberation Committee and emerged as the undisputed leader of Free France . He became head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic in June 1944, the interim government of France following its liberation . As early as 1944, De Gaulle introduced a dirigiste economic policy, which included substantial state-directed control over
11410-413: The French army. In Ingolstadt were also journalist Remy Roure , who would eventually become a political ally of de Gaulle, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky , a future commander of the Red Army . De Gaulle became acquainted with Tukhachevsky, whose theories about a fast-moving, mechanized army closely resembled his. He also wrote his first book, Discorde chez l'ennemi (The Enemy's House Divided) , analysing
11573-400: The Germans. During the interwar period , he advocated mobile armoured divisions. During the German invasion of May 1940, he led an armoured division that counterattacked the invaders; he was then appointed Undersecretary for War. Refusing to accept his government's armistice with Germany , De Gaulle fled to England and exhorted the French to continue the fight in his Appeal of 18 June . He led
11736-472: 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
11899-471: 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
12062-549: 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
12225-744: The Nuclear Planning Committee was further split into two sections. One section was the Nuclear Defense Affairs Committee and the other section was the Nuclear Planning Group. There are 3 main levels to the Nuclear Planning Group. At the top is the ministerial level. This level consists of defense ministers of the Nuclear Planning Group's members and is chaired by Mark Rutte , the Secretary General of NATO . At meetings they discuss issues involving nuclear planning, review and discuss work done by
12388-406: The Nuclear Planning Group as well. For example, it has been criticized for the lack of political willpower as it is difficult to evaluate the efficacy of the group without tangible results. In addition, the influence of the United States within the group is controversial. Depending on the point of view regarding nuclear weapons, the opinions of the Nuclear Planning Group differ but according to many,
12551-511: The Nuclear Planning Group to achieve consensus through incremental changes. Additionally, outside of the organization, the Nuclear Planning Group has maintained its presence without the worry of political action from non-alliance members. Through the strategic connection with the non-proliferation treaty , the planning group was able to be active without threatening the Soviets to take nuclear action. Alternatively there are also many criticisms of
12714-841: The Soviet Union and 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
12877-543: The Staff Group. In addition, the High-Level Group is a closely related organization that works in an advisory manner with the Nuclear Planning Group. Deliberations upon agenda topics will begin from the Staff Group level and eventually ascend to the ministerial level. The Nuclear Planning Group consists of all NATO members with the exception of France . Overall, the Nuclear Planning Group has created policy guidelines for nuclear-related topics while seeking to minimize
13040-538: 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
13203-541: The US. As US officials began to see the inefficiencies in secrecy over nuclear information sharing in the early 1950s, they began initiatives for law, policy and system changes that broadened nuclear sharing capacity. The National Security Council developed NSC 151/2 which included policy to share information on nuclear weapons with particular NATO members. Towards the end of 1953, President Eisenhower called for an increase in sharing of nuclear technology for civilian purposes during his speech " Atoms for Peace " addressing
13366-563: 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
13529-525: The United States or their Allies overseas. TNF originally stemmed from the 1953 decision of the Eisenhower administration to deploy nuclear weapons in Europe for tactical use and store it there as well. Due to the supply of American nuclear weapons in Europe , the Nuclear Planning Group had to consider the ramifications through several meetings between the US and Germans from 1969 to 1970. Through
13692-440: 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
13855-532: 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
14018-461: The age of fifteen he wrote an essay imagining "General de Gaulle" leading the French Army to victory over Germany in 1930; he later wrote that in his youth he had looked forward with somewhat naive anticipation to the inevitable future war with Germany to avenge the French defeat of 1870. France during de Gaulle's adolescence was a divided society, with many developments which were unwelcome to
14181-623: 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
14344-401: 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
14507-457: The alliance's nuclear affairs and wanted to gain greater influence, but other NATO members feared that West Germany's complete control of nuclear weapons would antagonize European nations and the Soviet Union. The MLF would have provided nuclear weapons jointly controlled by all NATO members, and addressing this issue. Much of John F. Kennedy 's administration advocated for the MLF and by December 1962,
14670-627: 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
14833-546: 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
14996-485: The basis for his book The Edge of the Sword (1932). After spending twelve years as a captain, a normal period, de Gaulle was promoted to commandant (major) on 25 September 1927. In November 1927 he began a two-year posting as commanding officer of the 19th chasseurs à pied (a battalion of élite light infantry) with the occupation forces at Trier . De Gaulle trained his men hard (a river crossing exercise of
15159-629: 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
15322-590: 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
15485-419: The context of the Cold War , De Gaulle initiated his "politics of grandeur", asserting that France as a major power should not rely on other countries, such as the United States, for its national security and prosperity. To this end, he pursued a policy of "national independence" which led him to withdraw from NATO 's integrated military command and to launch an independent nuclear strike force that made France
15648-467: The conversations of the enemy, and the information brought back was so valuable that on 18 January 1915 he received the Croix de Guerre . On 10 February he was promoted to captain, initially on probation. On 10 March 1915, de Gaulle was shot in the left hand, a wound which initially seemed trivial but became infected. The wound incapacitated him for four months and later forced him to wear his wedding ring on
15811-682: The country in wartime. He made a presentation about his bill to the CHEM. The bill passed the Chamber of Deputies but failed in the Senate. Unlike Pétain, de Gaulle believed in the use of tanks and rapid maneuvers rather than trench warfare. De Gaulle became a disciple of Émile Mayer, a retired lieutenant-colonel (his career had been damaged by the Dreyfus Affair ) and military thinker. Mayer thought that although wars were still bound to happen, it
15974-478: 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
16137-551: The course as he should have, and for his arrogance: his "excessive self-confidence", his harsh dismissal of the views of others "and his attitude of a King in exile". Having entered 33rd out of 129, he graduated in 52nd place, with a grade of assez bien ("good enough"). He was posted to Mainz to help supervise supplies of food and equipment for the French Army of Occupation . De Gaulle's book La Discorde chez l'ennemi had appeared in March 1924. In March 1925 he published an essay on
16300-556: The de Gaulle family: the growth of socialism and syndicalism , the legal separation of Church and state in 1905 , and the reduction in the term of military service to two years. Equally unwelcome were the Entente Cordiale with Britain, the First Moroccan Crisis , and above all the Dreyfus Affair . Henri de Gaulle came to be a supporter of Dreyfus, but was less concerned with his innocence per se than with
16463-481: 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,
16626-484: The disgrace which the army had brought onto itself. The period also saw a resurgence in evangelical Catholicism, the dedication of the Sacré-Cœur, Paris , and the rise of the cult of Joan of Arc . De Gaulle was not an outstanding pupil until his mid-teens, but from July 1906 he focused on winning a place at the military academy, Saint-Cyr . Lacouture suggests that de Gaulle joined the army, despite being more suited to
16789-420: The divisions within the German forces. The book was published in 1924. Originally interned at Rosenberg Fortress , he was quickly moved to progressively higher-security facilities like Ingolstadt. De Gaulle made five unsuccessful escape attempts, and was routinely punished with long periods of solitary confinement and the withdrawal of privileges such as newspapers and tobacco. He attempted escape by hiding in
16952-528: The end of the Eisenhower administration in 1961, the idea of the Multilateral Force (MLF) was proposed by US officials which called for the sharing of nuclear weapons that would be assigned to NATO and controlled by NATO nations. The hope of this proposal was to combat the fear of shortfalls in medium-range ballistic missiles in Europe. During this period, West Germany was interested in
17115-486: The existence of the group is a deterrent to nuclear weapons within itself. 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
17278-535: The extra cost of the new system for such insignificant benefits. Finally, West Germany's chancellor, Konrad Adenauer also doubted the effectiveness of the MLF. With such opposition, the MLF was never adopted. The demise of the MLF proposal gave rise to the Nuclear Planning Group. US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara saw the need for a different approach to nuclear sharing and supported a committee made up of NATO members. This would help with improving communication, consultation, and involvement among NATO members with
17441-511: The faculty would not have him. Instead de Gaulle, drawing on plans he had drawn up in 1928 for reform of that institution, asked Pétain to create a special post for him which would enable him to lecture on "the Conduct of War" both to the École de Guerre and to the Centre des Hautes Études Militaires (CHEM – a senior staff college for generals, known as the "school for marshals"), to civilians at
17604-547: 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
17767-565: The freezing Moselle River at night was vetoed by his commanding general). He imprisoned a soldier for appealing to his deputy for a transfer to a cushier unit, and when investigated initially tried to invoke his status as a member of the Maison Pétain , eventually appealing to Pétain to protect himself from a reprimand for interfering with the soldier's political rights. An observer wrote of de Gaulle at this time that although he encouraged young officers, "his ego...glowed from far off". In
17930-495: The ghost-writing of Le Soldat had deepened in 1928. Pétain brought in a new ghostwriter, Colonel Audet, who was unwilling to take on the job and wrote to de Gaulle in some embarrassment to take over the project. Pétain was quite friendly about the matter but did not publish the book. In 1929 Pétain did not use de Gaulle's draft text for his eulogy for the late Ferdinand Foch , whose seat at the Académie Française he
18093-601: 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
18256-572: 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
18419-588: The groundwork for the system was established. Despite the Kennedy administration's advocacy for the MLF, this system was also met with much skepticism. The French president, Charles de Gaulle , rejected the proposal of the idea in January 1963 as he felt that France would not benefit from depending on the United States to supply them with nuclear weapons nor relying on the United States to control nuclear weapons. Britain also felt that it would not be beneficial to incur
18582-881: 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
18745-547: The lack of transparency from the US caused other members to become concerned as to whether the US would support their NATO allies in the event of a general war, particularly in terms of US willingness to use nuclear weapons. Due to the lack of information on US nuclear capabilities, European members doubted their ability to defend themselves against the Soviet Union . Consequently, some felt they could be better suited in developing their own nuclear weapons rather than relying on
18908-712: The lower levels of the Nuclear Planning Group, and consider future plans for the group. With regards to the military side of NATO , the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee often engages with the ministerial meetings. Additionally, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is welcomed at the ministerial meetings alongside the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) (previously, when it
19071-447: The meetings is to advocate for nuclear deterrence efforts rather than defense through consultation. Additionally, the Nuclear Planning Group has five goals: to increase knowledge about nuclear weapon issues for Alliance members, act as a pressure relief valve for tense nuclear issues, create policy guidelines, address the nuclear sharing dilemma, and provide informal privileges for high-level political-military consultation. Overall there
19234-552: The meetings, a study was created and highlighted concerns about decoupling and also general questioning of the necessity of the TNW reserves. Eventually, the paper influenced the Nuclear Planning Group to limit the use of TNF due to the many unknowns that could worsen a nuclear war. In more recent times, the Nuclear Planning Group upholds the norms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty which was signed on August 5, 1963, and
19397-537: 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
19560-515: The members of NATO are also members of the Nuclear Planning Group apart from France . These countries are Albania , Belgium , Bulgaria , Canada , Croatia , the Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Iceland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Montenegro , the Netherlands , North Macedonia , Norway , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , Turkey ,
19723-462: The next 15 years. He later wrote in his memoirs: "My first colonel, Pétain, taught me the art of command". It has been claimed that in the build-up to World War I , de Gaulle agreed with Pétain about the obsolescence of cavalry and of traditional tactics, and often debated great battles and the likely outcome of any coming war with his superior. Lacouture is sceptical, pointing out that although Pétain wrote glowing appraisals of de Gaulle in 1913, it
19886-520: 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
20049-421: 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,
20212-636: 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
20375-462: The political spectrum, apart from the hard left who were committed to the Republican ideal of a citizen army. De Gaulle's views attracted the attention of the maverick politician Paul Reynaud , to whom he wrote frequently, sometimes in obsequious terms. Reynaud first invited him to meet him on 5 December 1934. De Gaulle was deeply focused on his career at this time. There is no evidence that he
20538-502: 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
20701-411: The right hand. In August he commanded the 10th company before returning to duty as regimental adjutant. On 3 September 1915 his rank of captain became permanent. In late October, he returned to command of 10th company. As a company commander at Douaumont (during the Battle of Verdun ) on 2 March 1916, while leading a charge to try to break out of a position which had become surrounded, he received
20864-506: The same classification of Tactical Nuclear Weapons which meant maintaining a high sense of caution before deploying the weapons. Another prominent issue that the Nuclear Planning Group faced was how the Soviet Union was building their military power including nuclear weapons. In October 1977, the Nuclear Planning Group met to discuss the need for theatre nuclear forces as a response to Soviet pressures. The term theatre nuclear forces (TNF) essentially means any use of nuclear weapons against
21027-590: 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
21190-448: The sharing of nuclear information instead of nuclear weapons as the MLF had proposed. McNamara helped to create a "select committee" of alliance members that would be set up at the ministerial level with the goal of facilitating more consultation and increasing member involvement on matters related to nuclear policy. This committee eventually grew into the "Special Committee on Nuclear Consultation" containing 10 Allied members. This committee
21353-525: 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
21516-618: 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 ,
21679-456: 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
21842-537: 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
22005-674: 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
22168-511: 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,
22331-659: The threat of nuclear conflict. The Nuclear Planning Group was established in December 1966 in response to the growing tensions among NATO members on issues of nuclear information sharing which began in the early 1950s. In combination with the United States ' mistrust in its NATO allies' abilities to contain nuclear information and the US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 which classified nuclear information as restricted data, there were many barriers to other NATO members' abilities to attain information. Consequently,
22494-432: The turn of the century. De Gaulle won a place at Saint-Cyr in 1909. His class ranking was mediocre (119th out of 221). Under a law of 21 March 1905, aspiring army officers were required to serve a year in the ranks, including time as a private and as an NCO , before attending the academy. Accordingly, in October 1909, de Gaulle enlisted (for four years, as required, rather than the normal two-year term for conscripts ) in
22657-576: The use of tactics according to circumstances, a deliberate defiance of Moyrand. De Gaulle's career was saved by Pétain, who arranged for his staff college grade to be amended to bien ("good"—but not the "excellent" needed for a general staff posting). From 1 July 1925 he worked for Pétain (as part of the Maison Pétain ), largely as a "pen officer" ( ghostwriter ). De Gaulle disapproved of Pétain's decision to take command in Morocco in 1925 (he
22820-560: The winter of 1928–1929, thirty soldiers ("not counting Annamese ") died from so-called "German flu", seven of them from de Gaulle's battalion. After an investigation, he was singled out for praise in the ensuing parliamentary debate as an exceptionally capable commanding officer, and mention of how he had worn a mourning band for a private soldier who was an orphan earned praise from the Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré . The breach between de Gaulle and Pétain over
22983-523: 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
23146-475: The world were dedicated to his memory after his death. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was born on 22 November 1890 in Lille , the third of five children. He was raised in a devoutly Catholic and traditional family. His father, Henri de Gaulle , was a professor of history and literature at a Jesuit college and eventually founded his own school. Henri de Gaulle came from a long line of parliamentary gentry from Normandy and Burgundy . The name
23309-474: The world's fourth nuclear power . He restored cordial Franco-German relations with Konrad Adenauer to create a European counterweight between the Anglo-American and Soviet spheres of influence through the signing of the Élysée Treaty on 22 January 1963. De Gaulle opposed any development of a supranational Europe , favouring Europe as a continent of sovereign nations . De Gaulle openly criticised
23472-533: Was "obsolete" for civilised countries to threaten or wage war on one another. He had a low opinion of French generals, and was a critic of the Maginot Line and a proponent of mechanised warfare. Lacouture suggests that Mayer focused de Gaulle's thoughts away from his obsession with the mystique of the strong leader ( Le Fil d'Epée : 1932) and back to loyalty to Republican institutions and military reform. In 1934 de Gaulle wrote Vers l'Armée de Métier ( Towards
23635-505: Was a gifted cadet who would undoubtedly make an excellent officer. The future Marshal Alphonse Juin was first in the class, although the two do not appear to have been close at the time. Preferring to serve in France rather than the overseas colonies, in October 1912 he rejoined the 33rd Infantry Regiment as a second lieutenant . The regiment was now commanded by Colonel (and future Marshal) Philippe Pétain , whom de Gaulle would follow for
23798-411: Was a lecturer to generals at CHEM. De Gaulle's superiors disapproved of his views about tanks, and he was passed over for promotion to full colonel in 1936, supposedly because his service record was not good enough. He called on his political patron Reynaud, who showed his record to Minister of War Édouard Daladier . Daladier, who was an enthusiast for rearmament with modern weapons, ensured that his name
23961-500: Was assuming. The Allied occupation of the Rhineland was ending, and de Gaulle's battalion was due to be disbanded, although the decision was later rescinded after he had moved to his next posting. De Gaulle wanted a teaching post at the École de Guerre in 1929. There was apparently a threat of mass resignation of the faculty were he appointed. There was talk of a posting to Corsica or North Africa, but on Pétain's advice he accepted
24124-675: Was at least one stormy meeting late in 1926 after which de Gaulle was seen to emerge, white with anger, from Pétain's office. In October 1926 he returned to his duties with the Headquarters of the Army of the Rhine. De Gaulle had sworn that he would never return to the École de Guerre except as commandant, but at Pétain's invitation, and introduced to the stage by his patron, he delivered three lectures there in April 1927: "Leadership in Wartime", "Character", and "Prestige". These later formed
24287-483: 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
24450-412: Was created due to several American concerns. This included handling the issue of the Soviet Union 's new nuclear systems at the time. The United States was also concerned of the capacity of the North Atlantic Council to handle important nuclear decisions during the Cold War period. Another reason why the United States wanted to create the High Level Group was in order to have the senior officials of
24613-574: 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
24776-506: Was eventually promoted to sergeant in September 1910. De Gaulle took up his place at Saint-Cyr in October 1910. By the end of his first year he had risen to 45th place. He was nicknamed "the great asparagus" because of his height (196 cm, 6'5"), high forehead, and nose. He did well at the academy and received praise for his conduct, manners, intelligence, character, military spirit, and resistance to fatigue. In 1912, he graduated 13th in his class and his passing-out report noted that he
24939-421: Was later known to remark that "Marshal Pétain was a great man. He died in 1925, but he did not know it") and of what he saw as the lust for public adulation of Pétain and his wife. In 1925 de Gaulle began to cultivate Joseph Paul-Boncour , his first political patron . On 1 December 1925 he published an essay on the "Historical Role of French Fortresses". This was a popular topic because of the Maginot Line which
25102-603: Was made up of a committee on crisis management, communication, and nuclear planning with the nuclear planning committee being the only committee organized at the ministerial level. The Nuclear Planning Committee consisted of the United States, United Kingdom, West Germany, Italy, and one representative from the other members. The first meeting of this committee in Washington, D.C., in February 1966 saw success in informing members of US nuclear plans, deterrence policies, and understanding of Soviet nuclear capabilities. Later that year,
25265-434: Was officially ratified by all NATO alliance members except for France in the 1970s. As the main intention of the Non-proliferation treaty is to limit access to nuclear weapons , the Nuclear Planning Group recommends policies to further that agenda. On a bi-annual basis, Nuclear Planning Group members meet to deliberate hot nuclear issues, tactical nuclear weapons doctrine, and various new nuclear munitions. The main focus of
25428-562: Was on the promotion list for the following year. In 1937 General Bineau, who had taught him at Saint-Cyr, wrote on his report on his lectureship at CHEM that he was highly able and suitable for high command in the future, but that he hid his attributes under "a cold and lofty attitude". He was put in command of the 507th Tank Regiment (a battalion of medium Char D2s and a battalion of R35 light tanks ) at Metz on 13 July 1937, and his promotion to full colonel took effect on 24 December that year. De Gaulle attracted public attention by leading
25591-411: 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
25754-470: Was promoted to first lieutenant in October 1913. When war broke out in France in early August 1914, the 33rd Regiment, considered one of the best fighting units in France, was immediately thrown into checking the German advance at Dinant . However, the French Fifth Army commander, General Charles Lanrezac , remained wedded to 19th-century battle tactics, throwing his units into pointless bayonet charges against German artillery, incurring heavy losses. As
25917-413: 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
26080-443: Was still active). Below them is the Permanent Representatives level which evidently involves the Permanent Representatives of NATO members. Their primary task is to deliberate over reports and findings that are to be later discussed at the ministerial level and to help prepare for the ministerial meetings. The Military Committee's Chairman can also be a participant at the Permanent Representatives meetings alongside 2-Star Officers of
26243-435: Was tempted by fascism, and there is little evidence of his views either on domestic upheavals in 1934 and 1936 or the many foreign policy crises of the decade. He approved of the rearmament drive which the Popular Front government began in 1936, although French military doctrine remained that tanks should be used in penny packets for infantry support (ironically, in 1940 it would be German panzer units that would be used in
26406-407: Was then being planned, but he argued that the aim of fortresses should be to weaken the enemy, not to economise on defence. Friction arose between de Gaulle and Pétain over Le Soldat , a history of the French soldier which he had ghost-written and for which he wanted greater writing credit. He had written mainly historical material, but Pétain wanted to add a final chapter of his own thoughts. There
26569-430: Was up 18% in the past year alone. Charles de Gaulle Defunct Defunct Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French military officer and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France. In 1958, amid
#354645