Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant'
18th May 2012, 11:29
Almost exactly a year after signing the North Atlantic Treaty, 12 nations have agreed a permanent organisation for the defence of the United States and Europe.
The final meeting of the fourth session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or Nato as it has become known, was held in front of cameras at Lancaster House in London.
During negotiations over the past few days, the ministers have reached agreement over a communiqué outlining the aims of the Organisation, and setting out a six-point plan for strengthening ties between their countries.
Key among these was the establishment of a council of deputies, with a permanent chairman and a full-time staff, to put the objectives of the Treaty into action.
(The 12 nations who signed the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States.
Later in 1950, US general and future president Dwight D Eisenhower was appointed Nato's first supreme commander. Nato soon ran into controversy when West Germany was included in the Treaty in 1955. The Soviet Union saw it as a direct threat, and in the same year created a counter-alliance called the Warsaw Pact.)
(From BBC History site)
The final meeting of the fourth session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or Nato as it has become known, was held in front of cameras at Lancaster House in London.
During negotiations over the past few days, the ministers have reached agreement over a communiqué outlining the aims of the Organisation, and setting out a six-point plan for strengthening ties between their countries.
Key among these was the establishment of a council of deputies, with a permanent chairman and a full-time staff, to put the objectives of the Treaty into action.
(The 12 nations who signed the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States.
Later in 1950, US general and future president Dwight D Eisenhower was appointed Nato's first supreme commander. Nato soon ran into controversy when West Germany was included in the Treaty in 1955. The Soviet Union saw it as a direct threat, and in the same year created a counter-alliance called the Warsaw Pact.)
(From BBC History site)