Nato

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
Introduction
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a political and military alliance whose primary goals are the collective defence of its members and the maintenance of a democratic peace in the North Atlantic area. All 28 Allies have an equal say, the Alliance’s decisions must be unanimous and consensual, and its members must respect the basic values that underpin the Alliance, namely democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.
NATO has a military and civilian headquarters and an integrated military command structure but very few forces or assets are exclusively its own. Most forces remain under full national command and control until member countries agree to undertake NATO-related tasks. NATO 's purpose is to protect the freedom of its members. As famously known "...an armed attack upon one...shall be considered an attack upon them all." In recent years, NATO 's purpose has expanded to include defense against weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and cyber attacks. Since its inception following World War II, NATO has had to continually redefine its focus as a military and political alliance to keep up with the changing face of war.
Representatives of NATO
The following countries are members of the Alliance: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each member is represented by an ambassador, who is supported by officials that serve on the different NATO committees. From time to time, the President/Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister or head of Defense will meet to discuss NATO business.

NATO Structure * Political structure
The highest decision-making authority of the Alliance and the forum for political consultations is the

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