INTRO:
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ALT= Flags flying in plaza at NATO headquarters (NATO)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 28 countries from North America and Europe committed to the goals of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty. Its fundamental purpose is to safeguard freedom and security through political and military means.
SLIDE 1:
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ALT= Acheson, seated, signing treaty, President Truman and others watching (NATO)
1949
Secretary of State Dean Acheson signs the NATO Treaty for the United States on April 4, 1949, in Washington. The treaty creates the North Atlantic Alliance.
SLIDE 2:
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ALT= Men seated around large square table (NATO)
1949
The first session of the North Atlantic Council is held September 17, 1949, in Washington.
SLIDE 3:
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ALT= Men in military uniforms raising a flag, audience watching (NATO)
1953
The exact origin of the NATO emblem is unclear, although it is known that the basic design was conceived by a member of the international staff. On October 14, 1953, the North Atlantic Council “approved a Flag for NATO, the design of which was a white and blue compass on a dark blue background,” NATO says. The first NATO flag is raised in a ceremony on October 14, 1953.
SLIDE 4:
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ALT= Soldiers in formation holding flags (NATO)
1974
NATO celebrates its 25th anniversary on April 4, 1974. Twelve nations founded the alliance, two more joined in 1952, another in 1955. Spain would join next, but not until 1982.
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ALT= Men sitting at table in conference room (NATO)
1955
West Germany joins NATO. German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, left, takes his seat at the table during a meeting in Paris on May 6, 1955.
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ALT= People sitting around circular conference table (NATO)
1993
The North Atlantic Council meets August 2, 1993, to discuss the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first NATO military operation resulting from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia is Operation Sharp Guard, which operates from June 1993 to October 1996.
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Alt= Military band playing, flags flying in background (NATO)
1999
Nations of the former Warsaw Pact — the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland — become NATO members for the first time with a ceremony March 16, 1999, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
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ALT= Seven men posing for camera (NATO)
2004
Seven East European nations — Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia — join NATO March 29, 2004.
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Alt= Flags flying in plaza between two wings of a building (NATO)
2004
The alliance comprises 28 nations, which normally are represented on the North Atlantic Council by an ambassador or permanent representative who is supported by a national delegation composed of advisers and officials who represent their country on different NATO committees. NATO has added new members seven times since the 12 original members created the alliance in 1949. Albania and Croatia are the most recent members, joining in April 2009.
SLIDE 10:
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ALT= Biden at lectern (AP Images)
2009
Vice President Biden attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in March 2009 to set out the foreign policy goals of the Obama administration less than a month after it takes office. His speech addresses questions about the relationship between the United States and NATO.
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ALT= Hutton and Gates seated, talking (AP Images)
2009
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, confers with British Defense Secretary John Hutton at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Krakow, Poland, in February 2009. A central issue of the discussions revolves around NATO’s continuing mission in Afghanistan.
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ALT= De Hoop Scheffer and Obama seated, with reporters in background (AP Images)
2009
President Obama, right, and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the White House March 25, 2009, discuss the agenda and issues being planned for the security alliance’s 60th anniversary summit being held in France and Germany on April 3–4. The alliance faces an array of issues, including operations in support of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, potential new members from Eastern Europe and reviving stalled talks with Russia.