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| Updated: 14-Feb-2001 | NATO the first five years 1949-1954 |
by Lord Ismay Secretary General of NATO (1952-1957) |
IntroductionThe signature of the North Atlantic Treaty in April, 1949, marked the beginning of a revolutionary and constructive experiment in international relations. In signing the Treaty twelve independent sovereign states - later to be joined by others - undertook pledges which called for immediate and continuous collective action, not only in the military, but also in the political, economic and social fields. This survey is an attempt to relate in a concise form why the Treaty was signed, what it means, how the machinery, both civil and military, for implementing its terms has been evolved, how that machinery works and what has been accomplished in the first five years of the Alliance - from 1949 until July 1954. It is primarily intended to serve as a work of reference for all who are concerned with NATO affairs, either in the various agencies of the Organization itself or in their own countries. But it is hoped that it may also be helpful to the parliaments of member countries and indeed to the citizens of the whole Atlantic Community, on whose understanding and co-operation the future of the Alliance so greatly depends. The survey bears witness to the wisdom of the statesmen who negotiated the Treaty. They did not attempt, at the outset, to draw up a blueprint of the international organization which should be set up, or to lay down any hard and fast rules of procedure. They realised that these could only be evolved step by step in the light of practical experience, and they proceeded accordingly. Thus, it was after much patient research and prolonged discussions by technical experts and numerous committees, after much experiment and not a few errors, that the Organization as it exists today was brought into being. Let it not be thought for a moment that the present arrangements are final: on the contrary they can, and will, be improved as time goes on and further experience is gained. Nevertheless, many people will, I believe, be surprised at the range of activities covered by NATO, impressed by the lengths to which the principle of alliance has been carried, and encouraged by the achievements of NATO's first five years. In summary these are: a Council in permanent session, with effective power of decision, meeting once, twice or even thrice a week - at half-an-hour's notice if need be - served by an International Staff, and a large number of committees and working groups, working day in, day out, on a wide variety of NATO problems; a military organization established to defend all NATO territories against armed attack, including a network of commands covering the North Atlantic Ocean and the European continent from the North Cape to North Africa and from the Channel to the Caucasus mountains; a shield of armed forces, not yet strong enough to resist an all-out attack but, according to the Supreme Commander in Europe, sufficiently strong not to be overcome by the forces which the Russians at present maintain outside the Soviet Union proper; remarkable cohesion between the armed forces of the member nations; impressive achievements in infrastructure; valuable studies of all those measures which go to ensure that the home fronts would be able to stand the strain if war should unhappily be forced upon them. These are noteworthy achievements: but there is another achievement which is perhaps even more valuable - namely the remarkable degree of unity which characterises all the NATO agencies. A visitor to the NATO Defence College will see officers of eight or ten different nations working in the same study group and lunching together afterwards, learning each others' viewpoints and making friendships that will endure perhaps for a lifetime. There is the same atmosphere at all NATO military headquarters. General Gruenther, for instance, recently said: 'In my 35 years of service I have been in many headquarters but I have never had experience with a happier one than SHAPE'. A visit to the international manoeuvres which go on practically the whole year round in the NATO area is an encouraging experience. Here, in peacetime, men belonging to different nations, speaking different languages, wearing different uniforms, carry out together, with admirable precision, exercises of impressive magnitude. The forces of NATO are no longer a dream, they are a reality. On the civil side, no member of the International Staff regards himself as a national of his own country. They all feel themselves members of an international team dedicated to the service of the Alliance as a whole. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is now entering upon a new phase which should demonstrate once again its adaptability to change and its capacity for progress. As this Introduction goes to the printer, the problem of closely associating the Federal Republic of Germany with the free countries of the West is, we hope, about to be resolved. The solution in prospect will be different in kind, but not in purpose, from the one originally proposed as far back as 1950 under the name of the European Defence Community, and later formally endorsed by the North Atlantic Council. On the 22nd October, 1954, the Council, meeting in Paris, welcomed the decisions of the Nine-Power London Conference, aimed at furthering the security of Europe by reinforcing and extending the Brussels Treaty. On the same day, the fourteen member governments of NATO approved the text of a protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany*. Once parliaments have ratified the agreements, the North Atlantic Alliance, fifteen members strong, should find itself considerably reinforced - first politically, later militarily. This should enable us to look to the future with renewed optimism and confidence. Many difficulties, however, still remain, and others will surely arise as time goes on. Our community of free nations, with interests extending to many parts of the world, is bound to be constantly faced with new problems requiring new solutions. Indeed, we in NATO will need, for years to come, a great deal of imagination and energy in order to develop by collective action the defensive power of our Alliance and to tighten in all fields the bonds between member states on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Complacency and weariness are among the evils we must
guard against. The longer a man carries a load, the heavier it seems
to become: and all the member These are noteworthy achievements: but there is another achievement which is perhaps even more valuable - namely the remarkable degree of unity which characterises all the NATO agencies. A visitor to the NATO Defence College will see officers of eight or ten different nations working in the same study group and lunching together afterwards, learning each others' viewpoints and making friendships that will endure perhaps for a lifetime. There is the same atmosphere at all NATO military headquarters. General Gruenther, for instance, recently said: 'In my 35 years of service I have been in many headquarters but I have never had experience with a happier one than SHAPE'. A visit to the international manoeuvres which go on practically the whole year round in the NATO area is an encouraging experience. Here, in peacetime, men belonging to different nations, speaking different languages, wearing different uniforms, carry out together, with admirable precision, exercises of impressive magnitude. The forces of NATO are no longer a dream, they are a reality. On the civil side, no member of the International Staff regards himself as a national of his own country. They all feel themselves members of an international team dedicated to the service of the Alliance as a whole. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is now entering upon a new phase which should demonstrate once again its adaptability to change and its capacity for progress. As this Introduction goes to the printer, the problem of closely associating the Federal Republic of Germany with the free countries of the West is, we hope, about to be resolved. The solution in prospect will be different in kind, but not in purpose, from the one originally proposed as far back as 1950 under the name of the European Defence Community, and later formally endorsed by the North Atlantic Council. On the 22nd October, 1954, the Council, meeting in Paris, welcomed the decisions of the Nine-Power London Conference, aimed at furthering the security of Europe by reinforcing and extending the Brussels Treaty. On the same day, the fourteen member governments of NATO approved the text of a protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany (*). Once parliaments have ratified the agreements, the North Atlantic Alliance, fifteen members strong, should find itself considerably reinforced - first politically, later militarily. This should enable us to look to the future with renewed optimism and confidence. Many difficulties, however, still remain, and others will surely arise as time goes on. Our community of free nations, with interests extending to many parts of the world, is bound to be constantly faced with new problems requiring new solutions. Indeed, we in NATO will need, for years to come, a great deal of imagination and energy in order to develop by collective action the defensive power of our Alliance and to tighten in all fields the bonds between member states on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Complacency and weariness are among the evils we must
guard against. The longer a man carries a load, the heavier it seems
to become: and all the member These are noteworthy achievements: but there is another achievement which is perhaps even more valuable - namely the remarkable degree of unity which characterises all the NATO agencies. A visitor to the NATO Defence College will see officers of eight or ten different nations working in the same study group and lunching together afterwards, learning each others' viewpoints and making friendships that will endure perhaps for a lifetime. There is the same atmosphere at all NATO military headquarters. General Gruenther, for instance, recently said: 'In my 35 years of service I have been in many headquarters but I have never had experience with a happier one than SHAPE'. A visit to the international manoeuvres which go on practically the whole year round in the NATO area is an encouraging experience. Here, in peacetime, men belonging to different nations, speaking different languages, wearing different uniforms, carry out together, with admirable precision, exercises of impressive magnitude. The forces of NATO are no longer a dream, they are a reality. On the civil side, no member of the International Staff regards himself as a national of his own country. They all feel themselves members of an international team dedicated to the service of the Alliance as a whole. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is now entering upon a new phase which should demonstrate once again its adaptability to change and its capacity for progress. As this Introduction goes to the printer, the problem of closely associating the Federal Republic of Germany with the free countries of the West is, we hope, about to be resolved. The solution in prospect will be different in kind, but not in purpose, from the one originally proposed as far back as 1950 under the name of the European Defence Community, and later formally endorsed by the North Atlantic Council. On the 22nd October, 1954, the Council, meeting in Paris, welcomed the decisions of the Nine-Power London Conference, aimed at furthering the security of Europe by reinforcing and extending the Brussels Treaty. On the same day, the fourteen member governments of NATO approved the text of a protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany(*). Once parliaments have ratified the agreements, the North Atlantic Alliance, fifteen members strong, should find itself considerably reinforced - first politically, later militarily. This should enable us to look to the future with renewed optimism and confidence. Many difficulties, however, still remain, and others will surely arise as time goes on. Our community of free nations, with interests extending to many parts of the world, is bound to be constantly faced with new problems requiring new solutions. Indeed, we in NATO will need, for years to come, a great deal of imagination and energy in order to develop by collective action the defensive power of our Alliance and to tighten in all fields the bonds between member states on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Complacency and weariness are among the evils we must guard against. The longer a man carries a load, the heavier it seems to become: and all the member countries have been carrying a heavy load of defence expenditure for a long time. There is a feeling too, that with our growing strength and cohesion, and the apparent change of the technique of the Soviet leaders since the death of Marshal Stalin, the danger of aggression has somewhat receded. Nevertheless, the threat remains and it would be a mockery of all the exertions and sacrifices that have been made if the members of the North Atlantic Alliance were, under whatever pretext, to allow their unity to be disrupted. At the momentous Conference of October 1954, the member governments reaffirmed that the North Atlantic Treaty remains a basic element in their foreign policies. Let us keep these words uppermost in our minds. Our fate is in our own hands. If we remain united, true to ourselves and to each other, we will avoid the unspeakable horrors of a third world war and be able to devote to the tasks of peace an ever-increasing measure of our energies and resources. Lord Ismay Footnote:
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