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Source: http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/01/15/we-still-need-nato/
NATO's Evolving Role in the Middle East
(American Interest) W. Bruce Weinrod - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 as a defensive alliance to deter or prevail against a military attack by the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO adjusted its military capabilities downward, though recent Russian expansionism has caused NATO to assess Russia as a significant potential security threat. While NATO did not formally participate in the 1991 Gulf War, NATO resources, supplies and bases provided crucial support prior to and during the U.S.-led coalition military action to force Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Also in the 1990s, new international security threats unrelated to NATO's traditional mission arose. Adopting a new strategic concept, NATO gradually assumed new missions, undertook unprecedented military operations, expanded its membership and developed a much wider range of global relationships. NATO's most significant new mission has been combatting terrorism. Beginning in 2003, NATO deployed thousands of troops to Afghanistan. Separately, NATO deployed maritime capabilities to deter terrorist activity by monitoring shipping in the Mediterranean and taking on anti-piracy responsibilities as the threat of piracy on the high seas has re-emerged. NATO intervened in the Balkans in the mid-1990s and more recently was involved in Libya. An additional new mission for NATO has been missile defense; NATO has allocated substantial resources to developing a core capability that can protect its bases and logistics sites while also providing the framework for broader national territorial and population defense capabilities. The writer served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy.