As the Iron Curtain separated Europe into two opposing military and political blocs, the Western Allies from World War II began laying the foundation for a unique new alliance to present a united front against any further territorial ambitions by the resurgent Soviet Union. On April 4, 1949, a dozen nations met in Washington, D.C., to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (aka the Washington Treaty), intended to guarantee long-term military and diplomatic ties between Europe and North America as a means of ensuring the freedom of Western Europe. That treaty came near the end of the June 1948-May 1949 Soviet blockade of West Berlin, broken by the Western Allies yearlong Berlin Airlift. The following year, U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had led the Allied victory against Nazi Germany, was named Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACEURs job was to head the military side of the new alliance and coordinate any future need to counter attempts to isolate, threaten, or control member states or territories under its protection. DEPOSITили

60 Years of Leadership: NATO 1949-2009 PDF

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