The 1960s were characterized by two consequent developments in NATO: the withdrawal of France, under President Charles de Gaulle, from the organization but not from the alliance in 1966; and the rising influence of the smaller nations, which sought to use NATO as an instrument of détente as well as defence. America's involvement in Vietnam further diminished US authority and contributed to dissatisfaction within NATO. Although the 1970s began with some agreements as a result of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I), the decade ended in disillusionment as the Soviets rapidly built up their military arsenal. NATO resolved this problem with the dual-track programme of 1979, in which new defence efforts were accompanied by new efforts at détente. The 1980s opened with a deepening crisis between the East and West. In 1983 the USSR failed to prevent the deployment of intermediate-range ballistic missiles, designed to cope with Soviet weapons targeted on European cities. This issue became irrelevant, however, after the signing of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty in 1987 (see Arms Control, International). The INF treaty presaged the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact. The decade ended with the apparent success of NATO in surmounting the challenge of the Communist bloc.

The end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the USSR brought new challenges for NATO. Some former Warsaw Pact states, particularly Poland, were anxious to join NATO as a safeguard against any future Russian aggression. Russia itself, meanwhile, opposed any extension of NATO into Central and Eastern Europe, taking the position that NATO remained an anti-Russian alliance. The Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian War of 1991-1995 was a particularly drastic test of NATO in the post-Cold War world: acting outside the territory of member states for the first time, under United Nations auspices, NATO forces were criticized by Russia for being too active in the former Yugoslavia, and by others for not being active enough. NATO attacks on Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo in September 1995 were instrumental in ending hostilities, while the Implementation Force (I-For) charged with policing the peace provisions agreed in the Dayton accord in November 1995 was drawn from NATO.

Achievements

Over the years the existence of NATO has led to closer ties between its members and to a growing community of interests. The treaty itself has provided a model for other collective security agreements. It is possible that NATO dissuaded the USSR from attempting direct assault on Western Europe.