NATO 

By: Tuffy Fields

Over the past few years there has been discussion about the role of NATO and if it serves a purpose in the modern world. Though it has been demonized on several occasions the truth is that it did serve a purpose and it still does. America has paid more than any other nation and it has taken since World War II for the members of NATO to pay a proportion to the organization that equals what America pays. While this only seems fair, we must remember that when NATO formed the most horrible World War II was just completed. The majority of Europe was in ruin yet the United States never had as much as one bomb fall on it. We were in the best position in the world to provide the resources needed to prevent the communist USSR from overrunning Europe. Had it not been for NATO we would be speaking Russian and English would be a second language. What exactly is NATO. 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an international alliance created after World War II to protect member countries and maintain peace. NATO was officially formed on April 4, 1949, when twelve countries from North America and Europe signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. These original members included the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations. The main goal of NATO was to provide collective defense, meaning that if one member country was attacked, all members would defend it. This idea is written in Article 5 of the treaty.