Question

Define NATO

Answers

GPT-4o mini
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance established on April 4, 1949. It was founded by 12 countries—Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States—primarily in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The main purpose of NATO is to ensure collective defense, meaning that an armed attack against one or more of its members is considered an attack against all members. This is enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty. In addition to collective defense, NATO promotes democratic values, facilitates diplomatic relations, and encourages cooperation on security issues among member countries.

Since its founding, NATO has expanded to include additional member countries, and its scope has evolved to address a variety of global security challenges, including crisis management, cooperative security, and counterterrorism. As of October 2023, NATO has 31 member countries.