102
votes
Accepted
Has NATO ever started a war?
There are four main NATO "operations" that can be interpreted as starting a war:
Bosnian War. NATO intervened with Operation Deliberate Force.
Kosovo War. NATO intervened with Operation ...
- 5,896
39
votes
Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
During the Cold War, there were always doubts if extended deterrence would hold. Would the US put Washington at risk to defend or avenge Bonn or Frankfurt?
So NATO needed powerful signals that they ...
- 16.5k
23
votes
Accepted
Did NATO promise Gorbachev not to accept membership applications from former Warsaw Pact nations?
tl;dr
Yes, arguably. There were several repeated assurances that NATO would not expand, given only orally or in letters, public newspaper articles, but no official treaty signed over this. This was ...
- 80.2k
20
votes
Has NATO ever started a war?
NATO was created as a defensive alliance to counter possible attacks from the Soviet Union in 1949. Its member states may have fought in wars as shown in your list: List of wars: 1945–1989. Your ...
- 415
15
votes
Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
As your article itself states:
On the record, the Germany government only admits to being part of what is officially termed a "nuclear sharing agreement."
In essence, the nuclear sharing ...
- 71.3k
15
votes
Have any non-German NATO forces been stationed in Eastern Germany since reunification?
No, the stationing (or deployment) of foreign armed forces and nuclear weapons in the territory of the former German Democratic Republic is explicitly forbidden in the last sentence of Article 5 (3) ...
- 9,134
13
votes
Did Serb nationalism play an outsized role in the breakup of Yugoslavia?
This depends on how you define "responsible"
The immediate reason was that the Croats and Slovenes (and later all the other non-Serbian nationals) overwhelmingly wanted independence. Under those ...
- 441
11
votes
Accepted
Why Mexico is not part of NATO?
NATO stands for North ATLANTIC Treaty Organization, not North American.
It is a treaty of mutual defense originally formed around the idea of protecting Europe from attack, specifically by the Soviet ...
- 54.5k
10
votes
Why there were no economic sanction wars against Warsaw Pact countries by the West?
Sanctions generally work when the country which suffers is isolated relatively and rely on trade with the opposite members of the sanctions. When Warsaw Pact existed it formed a separate and ...
- 6,454
10
votes
Accepted
Has there ever been a direct clash between NATO and Russia?
Under the banner of NATO, not that I'm aware of.
However the forces of NATO nations under UN command have fought directly against Russian forces in the Korean War - specifically pilots flying MiG-15'...
- 607
9
votes
Accepted
What restrictions were in place after WWII on the German aircraft industry?
Short Answer
The Question is asked based on two incorrect (or incomplete) premises:
1) The German aerospace industry is very healthy. In 2017 Germany was third in the world (behind only the US and ...
- 6,137
9
votes
What was the Western involvement in Finland's deal with the Soviets to be neutral?
The comparison between Ukraine and Finland is an attempt to shift the blame for the current war from Russia to the West. Alas, there are plenty of "useful idiots" in the West who are ...
- 26.7k
7
votes
Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
False sense of security
Mainstream wisdom during Cold War was that if ever that war becomes hot, Soviets (and Warsaw Pact in general) are bound to invade Western Europe, before substantial ...
- 11.1k
7
votes
How did Western leaders justify NATO's eastwards expansion after promising the Soviet leadership it won't happen?
There are several issues raised in the question:
The legal issue is quite clear and was addressed in other answers.
"... how these leaders justified NATO's expansion. Surely someone would have asked ...
- 6,188
6
votes
How "old" is mechanized infantry in terms of usage in warfare and what should be called as such?
Mechanised infantry were used in very small quantities during WWI, with extra troops carried in German A7V tanks, and became reasonably commonplace during WWII, with the advent of armoured personnel ...
- 30.4k
6
votes
How did Western leaders justify NATO's eastwards expansion after promising the Soviet leadership it won't happen?
We can read a NATO perspective on this.
Basically, personal conversations regarding the reunification of Germany did not constitute commitments for what would happen a later with the Russian ...
- 7,477
5
votes
Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
Someone better versed in the relevant history and politics might give you a more precise answer, but being able to read German sources is at least somewhat helpful. In short, there was also a lot of ...
- 191
5
votes
Accepted
How did NATO handle the military coups and juntas in Greece, Turkey and Portugal?
NATO stayed out of the way; and they "consulted"
Article 4
The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of
them, the territorial integrity, political independence or ...
- 3,509
5
votes
Accepted
Did NATO ever make plans for an unprovoked attack at the Soviet Union?
As @T.E.D. has pointed out in the comments, NATO almost certainly had top-level planning to cover that contingency, but it is extremely unlikely that NATO ever seriously considered starting a war ...
- 77k
5
votes
Why there were no economic sanction wars against Warsaw Pact countries by the West?
When you think about sanctions, you have to get your terminology right.
Boycott, the organized refusal to trade with somebody.
Embargo, the legal prohibition by a government to trade with somebody.
...
- 16.5k
4
votes
Why was Russia never part of NATO?
This is really a question? NATO came into existence BECAUSE of the USSR. Since the USSR was seen as an aggressor in the post-WW2, bases on their behavior in Eastern Europe, some Western European and ...
- 171
4
votes
Has there ever been a direct clash between NATO and Russia?
The Incident at Pristina Airport, 12 June 1999, following the war in Kosovo, was a direct stand-off between NATO and the Russian Federation. Despite a desire (and order) for engaging in combat by ...
- 1,116
4
votes
Has there ever been a direct clash between NATO and Russia?
If simple shooting down of a plane counts, then one thing that immediately springs to mind is the shooting down of the U-2 spy plane over Russian territory in 1960.
The main point of difference is ...
- 115k
3
votes
How did Western leaders justify NATO's eastwards expansion after promising the Soviet leadership it won't happen?
When the promise was given in the the 1990s, there was an explicit or implicit assumption that Russia would not invade neighboring countries.
Justification is simple and evident: all Eastern European ...
- 38.3k
3
votes
Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
This is intended as a historical complement to the technical answers.
I'm aware of the treatment it is liable to receive.
I still believe it is worth posting.
Hopefully people will take it as a useful ...
- 902
3
votes
How did NATO handle the military coups and juntas in Greece, Turkey and Portugal?
You have to see it in the historical context. Compared to the Communists, they were "free" indeed, even as a military dictatorship. For suitable meanings of "free," which was mostly defined as being ...
- 16.5k
3
votes
Did Serb nationalism play an outsized role in the breakup of Yugoslavia?
TLDR:
Prior to economic troubles provided by economic mismanagement courtesy of the IMF, most Yugoslavians were not nationalistic separatists; they wanted a unified Yugoslavia. After economic troubles,...
- 7,441
2
votes
Did Serb nationalism play an outsized role in the breakup of Yugoslavia?
Restricting this answer to the objective, "What reforms the Milosevic introduce?"
From the Britanica article:
As Serbia’s party leader, Milošević demanded that the federal government ...
MCW♦
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible