NATO: Difference between revisions

[[s:North Atlantic Treaty#Article 5|Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty]], requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks,<ref>{{cite web |title=Invocation of Article 5 confirmed |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |date=3 October 2001 |publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230143558/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |archive-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> after which troops were deployed to [[Afghanistan]] under the NATO-led [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending [[NATO Training Mission – Iraq|trainers to Iraq]], assisting in [[Operation Ocean Shield|counter-piracy operations]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Counter-piracy operations |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |work=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=27 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526115212/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |archive-date=26 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Main|International Security Assistance Force|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|l2=War in Afghanistan}}[[File:Explosion following the plane impact into the South Tower (WTC 2) - B6019~11.jpg|thumb|The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke its collective defence article for the first time. |alt=A monumental green copper statue of a woman with a torch stands on an island in front of a mainland where a massive plume of grey smoke billows among skyscrapers.]]

The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke [[NATO Article 5|Article 5]] of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1057/s42738-021-00067-0|title=Creating common sense: Getting NATO to Afghanistan|year=2021|last1=Münch|first1=Philipp|journal=Journal of Transatlantic Studies|volume=19|issue=2|pages=138–166|doi-access=free | issn = 1479-4012 }}</ref> The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |title=NATO Update: Invocation of Article 5 confirmed |date=2 October 2001 |publisher=NATO |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825031521/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |archive-date=25 August 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included [[Operation Eagle Assist]] and [[Operation Active Endeavour]], a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance the security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001.<ref name="NATO Operations"/>