Formation of NATO - HISTORY

Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union resulted in the formation of key alliances that would endure throughout the Cold War.

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On August 8, 2003, as NATO prepares to take over the mission to help rebuild Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Goetz Gliemeroth, commander of NATO forces, asserts that the role of his troops is to provide security so that the Afghans themselves can reconstruct their country.

On March 24, 1999, NATO began bombing Serbian military points after receiving reports of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo by Serb forces. Unable to get Yugoslav authorities to agree to a political settlement, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan ordered NATO's action. In a speech before the United Nations, Annan explains that there are times when one must use force in the pursuit of peace.

On October 2, 2001, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson holds a press conference to discuss the events of September 11, and pledges support of the 18 NATO allies in the campaign against international terrorism.

Upon his return from commanding U.S. occupation forces in Germany, Gen. Lucius Clay holds a press conference on May 17, 1949, and fields questions about the growing tension between the United States and the Soviets over the division of Germany.

A news report announces the Soviet Union's successful launch on October 4, 1957, of the world's first satellite, marking the start of the space race between the U.S. and the USSR.

On February 28, 1946, Secretary of State James Byrnes addresses the Overseas Press Club to discuss the purposes of the United Nations. In his speech, Byrnes makes an indirect reference to the Soviet Union when he declares that the United States is prepared to "act to prevent aggression."