NATO’s Article 5

It is especially wise for signatories understand the ramifications of treaties.

A characteristic of many Bulgarian, European and other world leaders is substandard literacy. For example, a German minister was recently impressing upon us how something was going to change considerably if it rotated “360 degrees.” Obviously, the too humble “180 degrees” were deemed by the abovementioned lady as insufficient. I am reminding the public: After a circumvolution of 360 degrees, everything remains exactly as it was.

Much has been said recently about Ukraine and NATO. Flags have been raised and multilevel meetings have been called, both political and military. It is thus useful to remember what NATO is, and specifically, what the crucial Article 5 of its founding treaty is. Article 5 states: “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them … shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”

[ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm ] [PS]

The essential phrase is “action as it deems necessary.” If, for example, Russia attacked Bulgaria, then the U.S. could deploy military force to deter the aggressor, if the U.S. deemed that necessary. But the U.S. can also not deploy such a force if it is deemed unnecessary. If a European NATO member deployed its forces in Ukraine, and if Russia attacked these forces, then the U.S. has no obligation to respond militarily. Really now, should the U.S. perish in an atomic apocalypse caused by naughty Europeans? In an atomic war “the one who strikes first dies second,” with a difference of 30 minutes. Thus with the notable “deems necessary” from Article 5, [action] may be deemed “necessary,” but maybe not.

When the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in 1949, Article 5 was meant to protect NATO’s European members from Soviet aggression. Ironically, as fate would have it, such aggression never occurred. Article 5 was invoked by the U.S after the Sept. 11 al-Qaida attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Shortly thereafter NATO attacked and occupied Afghanistan, where al-Qaida’s leaders hid. This 20-year war ended with the disgraceful departure of NATO forces, a departure that left behind weapons valued at $80 billion, as well as hundreds of thousands of Afghans who were affiliated with the American mission. The Taliban, of course, gladly murdered many of them and their families.

[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Treaty ] [PS]

[ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/us/politics/thousands-of-afghans-who-helped-the-us-are-trapped-what-happens-next.html ] [PS]

In addition to the North Atlantic Treaty, Bulgaria is a signatory of other important military and political agreements. It is important for these agreements and their ramifications to be well understood. And if laymen are not responsible for fostering such understanding, one’s leaders definitely are. History always repeats itself — in most cases, as tragedy.