North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also known as NATO, was officially established by the United States on April 4, 1949, in conjunction with some Western European countries, after World War II to contain the Soviet Union and maintain its dominant position in Europe. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. As of April 4, 2023, NATO has 31 member countries: Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Luxembourg, the United States, Norway, Portugal, Türkiye, Spain, Greece, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Croatia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania.

The purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is for member states to work together in collective defense and maintaining peace and security, promote democracy in the Euro Atlantic region through political and military means, combat international terrorism, prevent armed aggression in Europe and North America, and eliminate or transform nuclear weapons and other major weapons and equipment that compete with the Soviet Union's nuclear advantage.

NATO possesses a large number of nuclear weapons and conventional forces, making it an important military force for the West. This is a symbol of the strategic alliance achieved by the capitalist camp in the military after World War II, an extension and development of the Marshall Plan in the military field, which enabled the United States to control the defense system of the European Union, and a symbol of the United States' leadership position as a world superpower.