NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Abstract

The Truman Doctrine, with its commitment to containing Communism, was to have immense consequences for Europe. The United States had never considered a long-term commitment to Europe. But Soviet conduct in eastern Europe and the blockade of Berlin appeared convincing evidence that western Europe was a primary target of Stalin’s aggression. In April 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, creating NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation). The treaty included most of western Europe. Some states, such as Sweden, preferred neutrality. It was politically impossible to invite Franco’s Spain, which only joined in 1982. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952. NATO was to prove one of the most durable multilateral alliance systems in history.