The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), founded in 1949 as a military alliance between 12 North American and European countries, turned 70 this year. According to the principle of collective defense enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, an armed attack against one NATO Ally is considered as an attack against all NATO Allies. After the September 11 attacks against the United States, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time in its history. This alliance of 29 North American and European countries has helped engineer, secure and usher the longest period of peace and prosperity in Europe. NATO nations work together to help secure the global community and with the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has been forced to adapt to new and different threats.

 

As the evolution of warfare continues so does NATO, in size, scope and missions. This workshop will look at NATO's historic contributions to global peace and security, as well as examine how NATO has evolved to operate in the War on Terror. The experts will explore what threats face NATO today and what NATO may look like in the future.