NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
After World War II the countries of Western Europe found themselves too weak politically and militarily to prevent the spread of the communist "iron curtain" on a national level. The alliance of France and the United Kingdom through the Brussels Treaty was found to be minuscule when compared to the Communist Soviet Union. Very little time passed before this weakness was realized and Western Europe turned to a more inclusive North Atlantic Treaty, an agreement that involved a total of 12 nations including the United Kingdom and the United States. NATO was officially established on April 4, 1949 with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. The Western European powers relied on the massive nuclear arsenal of the United States to deter a Soviet ground invasion. Eventually NATO technology rendered the power of Soviet Union’s ground forces irrelevant. After the fall of communism the need for a military alliances diminished and NATO was transformed from a military force to a political force.
Warsaw Pact (originally Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance)
Established 6 years after NATO, the Warsaw Pact was formed as communist military alliance to maintain power over Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union gained both control over its neighboring European nations and indicated to other nations that it was a major military and political force. Although the ground forces of possessed by the Warsaw Pact were far superior to those of NATO, their technology soon fell far behind. After many democratic revolutions within the Warsaw Pact it was labeled "nonexistent" in 1991.
