On April 4, 1949, leaders from twelve countries assembled in Washington to sign the North Atlantic Treaty. The treaty laid the foundations for a political and military alliance, a little alliance you might have heard of: NATO (or in the rather unfortunate British house style, Nato).
For those of you doing the math at home, that means NATO is coming up on its 75th birthday in April 2024. And if earlier anniversaries are any indication, next year will be chock full of panels and publications designed to mark the occasion.
I’m going to get in on the action right here sharing stories and fun facts that interest me from the Atlantic Alliance’s last seventy-five years.
Starting this April 4, I’ll be posting regular installments once or twice a week. Some will deal with episodes already familiar to NATO watchers — can confirm there will be some CDG drama — and others will be strange, silly, and otherwise overlooked bits of NATO’s past. Each of them will be short, highlighting a tiny piece of the Alliance’s sprawling history. There will be curious incidents, documents from the archives, amusing press reporting, political cartoons, and much, much more — one installment for each of the Alliance’s seventy-five years.
So, stay tuned for a year of what I’ve dubbed NATO Nuggets.
To get the NATO Nuggets delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to my Substack (I know, I know) here.