The United States and NATO: World Relationships and Why they Matter

Last week, leaders of 29 countries gathered in London, England to celebrate the 70th anniversary of NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a political and military alliance formed on April 4, 1949, after World War II when 12 original countries signed a pact to help protect each other from the growing threat of the Soviet Union’s military expansion. NATO’s headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the now 29 member countries work together to build shared military and political protections. After the Cold War ended, NATO added former Soviet republics to its alliance and added a focus on joint humanitarian efforts. One of the key purposes of NATO is stated in Article 5 of its original agreement – that if one country is attacked or under distress, the other NATO countries will come to its aid (the only time Article 5 has been enacted was after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States). However, 70 years after its beginning, leaders in several NATO countries, including the United States, question its continued mission and effectiveness. Some of that uncertainty and stress in the relationships between the countries was on display last week at the anniversary summit meeting in London. In January 2019, the U.S. Congress passed the «NATO Support Act» to reinforce Congress’ support of the Alliance and to try to prevent President Trump from unilaterally withdrawing from the 70-year-old Treaty. How the United States interacts with its allies and conducts its foreign political and military policy reflects the values of the country and the guidance of the Constitution in its Preamble, in which one of its primary goals is to «provide for the common defense.»

Essential Questions:

How important do you believe, among all the priorities of the U.S. Government, is the United States’ relationships with its Allies, and why?
What other parts of the Constitution, besides the Preamble, refer to United States relationships with other countries?
Why might it be in the United States’ interest to provide defense and support of smaller countries in western Europe?
What happened at the December 2019 meeting / 70th Anniversary summit between the leaders of NATO and what might it mean for our relationships going forward?
What do you think the future of a political and military alliance like NATO should be, and what should the US role be going forward?
Should the president be able to withdraw from a Treaty like NATO without the participation or consent of Congress? Why or why not?