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	Podcast:		Cold War Cast
	Episode:		The Formation of NATO
	Category:		Society & Culture
	Duration:		00:34:25
	Publish Date:		2018-03-30 09:36:13
	Description:		In 1949 a handful of European countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty which basically stated that if a signator was attacked, all members would come to their aid – collective security. This was in response to recent Soviet aggression, notably plucking off Czechoslovakia in a Soviet-sponsored coup and the attempt to absorb West Berlin. Individually all members of NATO (well, maybe with the exception of the USA) would be too weak to stand up to the Soviet Union alone, but collectively they would form a very formidable bloc that would make the Reds think twice about reaching westward. In this episode I discuss the foundation of NATO mainly from the point of the circumstances that caused it and the considerations/concerns of the US and European partners – both sides certainly had reservations about the other. NATO wasn’t just going to be a handful of atomized militaries with a treaty, they sought integration, standardization and cooperation amongst each other and really has been a successful experiment in collective security. Also, we’re going to be crowd sourcing an upcoming episode on George Orwell’s 1984. Please send your questions, comments, anecdotes, thoughts, etc. about the book to ryan@coldwarcast.com
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