The Transformation of the Transatlantic Alliance and the War on Terror

At the beginning of the Cold War, the United States made a significant shift in national security policy with regard to alliances and coalition warfare. Prior to the mid-20th century, American policy had been to avoid becoming entangled in permanent alliances. Even temporary alliances were to be entered only under extraordinary circumstances.1 After circumstances brought the United States belatedly and reluctantly into two world wars, policymakers resolved to follow a different approach. Aiming simultaneously to co-opt defeated Axis powers and balance Soviet power, the United States entered into formal alliances in Europe and Asia. In the case of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the formal alliance. Collective defense within the framework of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter provided the basis for forming NATO.2 In the bi-polar Cold War world, formal alliances served to send a clear signal of unity in order to deter aggression. Formal alliances also encouraged higher standards in military effectiveness, enabled combined strategic planning, and provided better integration between the militaries of the allied nations.3 Despite the veneer of an alliance of equals, American hegemony of NATO developed.