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Any top brass leadership positions of the KKK living off their organizations coffers or related ancillary supportive businesses.Also, as a black person you could try but personally I wouldn’t waste my time submitting resumes or launching careers in any of the following organizations:Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, (English: Afrikaner Resistance Movement) (AWB) is a South African far right[3] secessionist political organisation. The AWB is committed to the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "Volkstaat/Boerestaat" in part of South Africa.[4]Blanke Bevrydingsbeweging (English: White Liberation Movement) (BBB). The BBB sought a white South Africa by the removal of the black population.Herstigte Nasionale Party (English: Reconstituted National Party). A far-right wing party supporting Afrikaner nationalism[5] and a return to apartheid.South African Gentile National Socialist MovementEuropean National Front, (abbreviated ENF) is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Members of the ENF sometimes also use anti-capitalist rhetoric. One member of the European National Front has achieved entry into the European Parliament: Italian MEP Roberto Fiore, leader of the neo-Fascist Forza Nuova(New Force) in Italy.National Party of Europe, (abbreviated NPE) was a far-right Pan-European Nationalist political party from 1962 to 1968. The NPE supported a Pan-European nation-state encompassing mainland Europe, the lands to be liberated by American and Russian withdrawal from occupied territories and military bases, the British Dominions and other European overseas territories, and approximately one-third of Africa. Colonialism was to be brought to an end and each former colony replaced with a single-ethnic government.[6] The NPE was founded on March 1, 1962 when the European Declaration at Venice was signed by Europe's eminent far-right parties of the day: The Union Movement of Britain, Deutsche Reichspartei of West Germany, the Italian Social Movement, and Jeune Europe & Mouvement d'Action Civique of Belgium.European Social Movement, (abbreviated ESM) was a neo-Fascist Europe-wide alliance formed in 1951 to promote Pan-European Nationalism. The ESM had its origins in the far-rightItalian Social Movement, and was replaced by the National Party of Europe in 1962.New European Order, (abbreviated NEO) was, like the European Social Movement, a neo-Fascist Europe-wide alliance formed to promote Pan-European Nationalism. The NEO was founded in 1951 shortly after the founding of the European Social Movement, and in defiance of the ESM, which the NEO claimed was too moderate in its racialist and anti-communist views. After its founding, the NEO pledged a European war against communists and non-whites.Blood, Land, Honour and Faithfulness, (Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw; abbreviated BBET), is a Flemish neo-Nazi group in Belgium, founded in 2004 from a splinter of the Flemish branch of the international Nazi skinhead organization, Blood and Honour. BBET rose to prominence in September 2006, after 17 members, including 11 soldiers, were arrested under the December 2003 anti-terrorist laws and laws against racism, antisemitism and negationism. According to Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx and Interior Minister Patrick Dewael, the suspects were preparing terrorist attacks in order to "destabilize Belgium."National European Community Party, (Parti Communautaire National-Européen; abbreviated PCN), is a Belgian radical right-wing political party which follows National Bolshevism.Bosnian Movement of National Pride (Bosanski Pokret Nacionalnog Ponosa; abbreviated BNMP) is a Bosnian Nationalist neo-Nazi group founded in Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2010.Platform for Catalonia Far-right xenophobic and Spanish unionist organization.Identity Bloc, (Bloc Identitaire) is a French radical right-wing populist political party founded in 2003. Although neo-Nazi and neo-Fascist groups are illegal in France, Identity Bloc has been called both far-right and White Nationalist. Identity Bloc has also been known to espouse Pan-European Nationalism.National Democratic Party of Germany, (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands; abbreviated NPD) is a far-right German nationalist party formed in 1964. The NPD was founded in 1964 as a successor to the German Reich Party (German: Deutsche Reichspartei, DRP) and considers itself to be Germany's "only significant patriotic force." The leader of the NPD is Frank Franz.German People's Union, (Deutsche Volksunion; abbreviated DVU) was a German nationalist party formed in 1971 by Gerhard Frey. The DVU supports German ethnic nationalism, Pan-Germanism, Third Positionism, and Right-wing populism. The party ends up in 2011 by joining the National Democratic Party of Germany.German League for People and Homeland, (Deutsche Liga für Volk und Heimat; abbreviated DLVH) is nationalist and conservative right-wing German political association which was formed in 1991 by the more extreme right-wing Harald Neubauer, who split from Die Republikaner in reaction to the over-moderately conservative REP leader, Franz Schönhuber. When it first emerged, the DLVH stated its goal was to unite all of Germany's far-right elements under one banner.The Republicans, (Die Republikaner; abbreviated REP) is a Nationalist and Conservative political party in Germany, formed in 1983 and led by Rolf Schlierer. The REP promotes German nationalism, National Conservatism, anti-immigration, Right-wing populism, and social conservatism.German Heathen's Front, (Deutsche Heidnische Front; abbreviated DHF) is a far-right Germanic Neopagan group formed by avowed neo-Nazi Hendrik Möbus in 1998 as the German section of the Allgermanische Heidnische Front (AHF), or All-Germanic Heathen's Front, an international Völkisch and Pagan group practicing Heathenry in the forms of Germanic Neopaganism, Odinism, and Wotanism.Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front (abbreviated GdNF) was the main group in Germany for neo-Nazi activity in the 1990s. The small group was formed in 1985 by Michael Kühnen, Thomas Brehl [de] and Christian Worch after the 1983 banning of the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists. The GdNF was soon formalized into a well-ordered organization, taking in the former ANS/NA membership. The GdNF placed itself within the more radical Sturmabteilung tradition of Nazism rather than simple devotion to Adolf Hitler, staging marches, paramilitary training and setting up cells in the German Democratic Republic. After Kühnen came out in 1986, the GdNF remained loyal, but in the resulting split, the group lost control of both the FAP and the organizations of celebrations for Hitler's 100th birthday. After Kühnen's death in 1991, the group gradually passed out of existence.National Offensive, (German: Nationale Offensive; abbreviated NO) was a German neo-Nazi party formed in 1990 by Michael Swierczek, former chairman of the Free German Workers' Party (FAP) in Bavaria. The focus of the platform of the NO was its fight against immigrants. It considered the blending of cultures to be genocide, and therefore called for the deportation of foreigners, tightening of German asylum laws, and making it more difficult to attain German nationality. In 1991 and 1992, the NO publicly supported former SS-member Josef Schwammberger while on trial for war crimes. the National Offensive was banned by the German Interior Ministry in 1992.[7]German Alternative, (Deutsche Alternative; abbreviated DA) was a minor neo-Nazi group set up by Michael Kühnen in 1989. Deutsche Alternative's declared goal was the restoration of the German Reich, and DA rejected the cession of German areas in Eastern Europe following World War II as well as all immigration to Germany claiming that there were already too many foreigners in the country.Free German Workers' Party, (Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; abbreviated FAP) was a neo-Nazi political association in Germany from 1979 to 1995. The FAP was relatively obscure until the larger and more active ANS/NA was banned in 1983, when prominent German neo-Nazi Michael Kühnen encouraged former members of the now-illegal ANS/NA to infiltrate the FAP in order to preserve a nucleus of organized National Socialism in Germany. However, the FAP itself was banned by the German government in 1995.Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists, (Aktionsfront Nationaler Sozialisten/Nationale Aktivisten; abbreviated ANS/NA) was a German National Socialist group formed by Michael Kühnen in 1977, under the name Action Front of National Socialists (ANS), as a legal branch of the NSDAP/AO. The ANS merged with the National Activists (NA), another neo-Nazi group led by Thomas Brehl, in 1983, forming the ANS/NA as it existed until its ban by the German government. In 1983, the German Ministry of the Interior banned the ANS/NA, which officially disbanded soon after.Nationalist Front, (Nationalistische Front; abbreviated NF) was a minor neo-Nazi group formed in 1982 as the Nationalist Front - League of Social Revolutionary Nationalists. The Nationalist Front was characterized for its support for Strasserism rather than the more usual forms of Nazism, and also for having a large Pagan population and for forming links with the Ku Klux Klan in America, even performing cross burnings.People's Socialist Movement of Germany/Labour Party, (Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit; abbreviated VSBD/PdA) was a German neo-Nazi group led by Friedhelm Busse. The Junge Front (Young Front), a youth movement attached to the party, was also organized. The VSBD/PdA adopted a more left-leaning view of Nazism: Strasserism. Strasserism, formed by two early left-leaning Nazis in the 1920s, the brothers Gregor and Otto Strasser, calls for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of National Socialism, particularly hostile to finance capitalism. The VSBD/PdA was banned in Germany in 1982.Viking Youth, (Wiking-Jugend; abbreviated WJ) was a German neo-Nazi youth organization modeled after the original Hitler Youth, the HJ Hitlerjugend. The WJ was formed in 1952 as the successor to the Reichsjugend, the youth branch of the Sozialistische Reichspartei, which was banned. So when the German neo-Nazis went underground, the fragments of former National Socialist youth organizations and smaller follow-ups - the former Reichsjugend, the Vaterländischer Jungenbund, the Deutsche Unitarier-Jugend - were eventually all brought together as the Wiking-Jugend. The WJ was outlawed as unconstitutional in 1994.Socialist Reich Party of Germany, (Sozialistische Reichspartei Deutschlands; abbreviated SRP) was a far right West German political party founded in 1949, in the aftermath of World War II, as an openly National Socialist and Hitler-admiring split from the Deutsche Reichspartei. Leading figures included Otto Ernst Remer, a former Major General in the Wehrmacht. The SRP claimed that Karl Dönitz was the last legitimate Führer of a pan-German Reich. The SRP also advocated Europe, led by a reunited German Reich, as a "third force" against both capitalism and communism. The SRP was banned by the West German government in 1952, and much of its membership re-joined the Deutsche ReichsparteiGerman Reich Party, (Deutsche Reichspartei; abbreviated DRP) was a German nationalist political party formed from the defunct German Right Party in Germany in 1950. In 1949, the Socialist Reich Party split from the DRP; the SRP was openly National Socialist and Hitler-admiring. However, the DRP would be marked as the new force of neo-Nazism in 1952, when the Socialist Reich Party was declared unconstitutional and banned, and much of its membership joined or re-joined the DRP, including longtime Nazi and former Luftwaffe pilot, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who joined in 1953. The German Reich Party remained the main force of the far-right in Germany until it dissolved in 1964, replaced by the National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, or NPD)German Conservative Party - German Right Party, (Deutsche Konservative Partei - Deutsche Rechtspartei) was a conservative and nationalist German post-World War II political party, formed in 1946 as a merger of the German Conservatives, Deutsche Aufbaupartei, and Deutsche Bauern- und Landvolk Partei. Originally intended as a continuation of the conservative pre-WWII German National People's Party, it soon attracted a number of former Nazis and its program changed towards a more neo-Nazi stance. The Deutsche Rechtspartei continued to face pressure until eventually it merged with other right-wing groups, such as the National Democrats, to form the German Reich Party around 1950.Golden Dawn, a party founded in 1985. In the 6 May 2012 Greek parliamentary election, 2012, the Golden Dawn party, as part of the protest vote against the austerity program agreed to by the previous government to resolve the Greek financial crisis, received an unprecedented 7% of the vote, up from less than 1% in 2009, and became entitled to be seated in the Greek Parliament for the first time, with 21 seats.[8]SUMKA, Pan-Iranist Neo-Nazi party.Dutch Peoples-Union, a Dutch political party. Because of its many calls for the rehabilitation of convicted World War II war criminals and SS costumes worn at demonstrations, it is counted among the most extreme right of Dutch politics. The party strives for a fusion of the Netherlands with Flanders and a Europe of the Fatherlands.Vigrid was a Norwegian nationalist political party and Norse religious organization.National MovementNational Radical CampNational Rebirth of PolandPartido Nacional Renovador (National Renovator Party) is a nationalist party active in Portugal.Iron GuardNoua DreaptăPamyat, (Memory) is a Russian ultra-nationalist organization that emerged covertly in the late 1970s from a society in the Soviet Union for preserving cultural monuments, and had become overtly political by the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.Russian National Socialist Party, a break-off from Pamyat that formed in 1998.Russian National Unity, a far-right political party.Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI), Formerly the largest Russian nationalist organisation. Founded 12 of July 2002 The chief organiser of the annual Russian March event. Has multiple branches in all Russian regions.National Socialist Society (NSO)Slavic Union (SS)Democracia Nacional is a far right political party in Spain, founded in 1995. Known for their anti-immigration campaigns under the slogan "Compórtate o márchate" (Behave well or leave the country).España 2000 is a far-right political party of Spain. At present they are without parliamentary representation, but they have a growing presence in Valencia and Madrid and a minor presence currently in Catalonia, Granada, Navarra and Sevilla. They have 7 town councillors.Republican Social Movement third-positionist political party of Spain.European Nation State European nationalist political party of Spain.National Alliance openly neo-nazi political party of Spain.Bases Autónomas violent neo-nazi group that was active in Spain in the 80's and 90's.CEDADE national-socialist cultural and political association, founded in 1966 and dissolved in 1993.Nacionalni stroj (National Alignment) is the name of a Neo-Nazi organisation that was formed in Serbia and managed to attract some attention with their antisemitic demonstrations in 2005. Eighteen of its leading members were arrested and face lengthy prison terms.National Socialist Front, existed from 1954 to 2008, when it was re-formed as the People's Front.Swedish Resistance Movement, a party founded in 1997See also: Turkish nationalismApart from neo-fascist[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]Grey Wolves and the Turkish ultranationalist[16][17][18][19][20][21]Nationalist Movement Party there are some Neo-Nazi organizations in Turkey like the Turkish Nazi Party[22]or the National Socialist Party of Turkey,[23]mainly based on the internet.[24][25][26]Blood & Honour, is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and political group founded in 1987 with links to Combat 18 and composed of white power skinheads and other white nationalists. The group organizes white power concerts by Rock Against Communism (RAC) bands and distributes a magazine with the same name.[27]British National Party, is a far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982. The BNP restricted membership to people it referred to as "Indigenous Caucasian", effectively excluding non-whites, until 2009 when its constitution was challenged in the courts on grounds of racial discrimination.[28]Candour, is an irregular British Nationalist magazine published by the A. K. Chesterton Trust.[29]Combat 18, is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour.National Front, a small far-right party, which was more prominent in the 1970s.11th Hour Remnant Messenger was a group founded by two wealthy retired entrepreneurs who believed that whites were the true biblical Israelites.American Renaissance, is a "race realist and white advocacy website", formerly a monthly magazine, published by the New Century Foundation.American Freedom Party, formerly known as the American Third Position Party, is an American political party which promotes white supremacy.[30][31][32][33] It was founded in 2010, and it defines its principal mission as representing the political interests of white Americans.[34]American Nazi Party, is an antisemitic, neo-Nazi organization based largely upon the ideals and policies of Adolf Hitler's NSDAP in Germany during the era of the Third Reich.It also supports Holocaust denial.Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is, according to the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the largest and most violent white supremacist prison gangs in the United States, responsible for murders and other violent crimes.[35][36]Aryan Nations, is a white supremacist neo-Nazi organization founded in the 1970s by Richard Girnt Butler as an arm of the Christian Identity group known as the Church of Jesus Christ-Christian. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has called Aryan Nations a "terrorist threat",[37] and the RAND Corporation has called it the "first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the US.[38]Asatru Folk Assembly, part of the racist ("folkish") branch of the Heathenry movement.[39]Council of Conservative Citizens, is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white separatism.[40]Creativity Alliance, (formerly known as the World Church of the Creator) is a white supremacist political organization that advocates the racialist religion, Creativity. Mainly religious rather than political, the radical Creativity Alliance or Church of Creativity, founded by Ben Klassen in 1973, worships the white race itself rather than any deity, and advocates a radical form of white supremacism known as RAHOWA.EURO, is a white separatist organization in the United States. Led by former Louisiana state representative and presidential primary candidate David Duke, it was founded in 2000.[41][42]Hammerskins, also known as Hammerskin Nation, are a white supremacist group formed in 1988 in Dallas, Texas. Their primary focus is the production and promotion of white power rock music, and many white power bands have been affiliated with the group.Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as The Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present right-wing[43] organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy and nationalism. The Klan is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[44] It is estimated to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members, split among dozens of different organizations that use the Klan name as of 2012.[45]National Alliance, is a white supremacist political organization. It was founded by William Luther Pierce, and is based in the Pierce family's compound in Hillsboro, West Virginia.National Association for the Advancement of White People, is a white supremacist organization in the United States incorporated on December 14, 1953 in Delaware by Bryant Bowles which presents itself as a civil rights organization such as the NAACP.National Policy Institute, is a think tank based in Augusta, Georgia in the United States. It describes itself as the right's answer to the Southern Poverty Law Center.National Socialist Movement (United States), a party founded in 1974. Since 2005 the party has become very active, staging many marches and demonstrations.National Vanguard, was an American National Socialist organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded by Kevin Alfred Strom and former members of the National Alliance.Nationalist Movement, is a Mississippi-based, white supremacist organization that advocates what it calls a "pro-majority" position. It has been called white supremacist by the Associated Press and Anti-Defamation League, among others.[46][47]Occidental Quarterly, is a printed far-right quarterly journal with a web segment, TOQ Online, including interviews, essays and reviews on the website.[48]The Order, or Brüder Schweigen ("Silent Brotherhood") was a white supremacist Revolutionary organization founded by Robert Jay Mathews, active 1983-1984, probably best known for the 1984 murder of talk show host Alan Berg. Berg's killing was to be the first in a planned series of assassinations, followed by attacks on the United States government, all meant to bring about a race war which would result in fulfillment of White Separatist ideals (see Northwest Territorial Imperative).Pacifica Forum, is a controversial discussion group in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It has been listed as a white nationalist[49] hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).Phineas Priesthood, is a Christian Identity movement that opposes interracial intercourse, the mixing of races, homosexuality, and abortion. It is also marked by its anti-Semitism, anti-multiculturalism, and opposition to taxation.Volksfront, describes itself as an international fraternal organization for persons of European descent.[50] It has been called "neo-Nazi" and a "racist-skinhead group" in press reports.[51][52][53] The Anti-Defamation League has called the group "one of the most active skinhead groups in the United States."[54] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has added Volksfront to its list of hate groups.[55]White America, Inc., a group founded in Arkansas to prevent racial desegregation of the state's schools.[56]White Aryan Resistance, is a neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger.[57]Aryan Guard, was founded in late 2006 but did not gain any media attention until 2007 when members began a flier campaign targeting immigrants. Some of these flyers had been surreptitiously placed in the free Calgary arts and culture newspaper, "Fast Forward" by Aryan Guard members. The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies suspect that the individual responsible for the fliers may be Bill Noble, a neo-Nazi well known to law enforcement for his online racist activism and who has been in the past charged under Section 319 of the Canadian Criminal Code for wilful promotion of hatred. The Aryan Guard's website is also registered in Noble's name.[58][59]Canadian Heritage Alliance, is a Canadian white supremacist group founded in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.[60][61] Detective Terry Murphy of London's Hate Crime Unit alleged that the group had links with the Heritage Front and the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge-based Tri-City Skins.[62]Heritage Front, was a Canadian neo-Nazi[63] white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005.[64]Ku Klux Klan, active in parts of Canada in the 1920s and early 1930s.[65]National Socialist Party of Canada, is a neo-Nazi party founded in 2006 by Terry Tremaine. The party uses a flag featuring a red swastika on a field of blue.[66]Tri-City Skins, was an Ontario-based white power group active from 1997 to 2002 in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge area. James Scott Richardson was the group's most visible member, and in October 2001, police believed that Tri-City Skins had 25 members in southwestern Ontario.[67][68]Western Canada for Us, was a short-lived Alberta-based white nationalist group founded by Glenn Bahr and Peter Kouba in early 2004.[69]Western Guard Party, (founded in 1972 as the Western Guard) was a white supremacist group based in Toronto, Canada. It evolved out of the far-right anti-Communist Edmund Burke Society that had been founded in 1967 by Don Andrews, Paul Fromm, Leigh Smith and Al Overfield.The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, is an alleged branch of the KKK operating in Chilliwack, BC. In July 2017, a group claiming to be from the organization flyers lawns across the city.[70]New Triumph Party, Nationalist Argentinian PartyNeuland (New Land) is a violent neo-Nazi group active in Brazil as of the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century.[71][72][73]National Socialist Movement of Chile, was founded in 1932. The most notable member of the party was Miguel Serrano, a major figure in esoteric Nazism. The party merged in 1938 with the Unión Socialista [es] to create the Alianza Popular Libertadora. In 1945, the APL merged with the Chilean Agrarian Party to form the Partido Agrario Laborista. During 1970-1973, the party was re-formed as the Vanguardia Revolucionaria Nacional, using a mirror-image of the original 1932 party flag. After the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the party was disbanded and many members of the party took offices in the Pinochet dictatorship[citation needed].Orgullo Skinhead, the National Revolutionary Front of Uruguay, and Poder Blanco were three neo-Nazi organizations active in Uruguay in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[74]Antipodean ResistanceAustralians Against Further ImmigrationAustralia First PartyAustralian Nationalist MovementBlood & HonourCreativity AllianceHammerskin NationNational Action (Australia)National Socialist Party of AustraliaPatriotic Youth League[75]Reclaim AustraliaTrue Blue CrewUnited Patriots Front[76]New Zealand National Front, was an initiative of John Tyndall of the British National Front formed in 1977; sister organizations were also formed in Australia and South Africa at the same time.The Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi, antisemitic online newspaperPodblanc is an antisemitic and white supremacist[77] video sharing website. Founder Craig Cobb designed it as an alternative to YouTube, which Cobb calls "Jew Tube" due to its policy of banning racist and anti-Semitic content.[77]Stormfront is an antisemitic and white nationalist Internet forum.Metapedia a white nationalist online encyclopedia, similar to Wikipedia.Redwatch a British neo-Nazi and antisemitic website.Vanguard News Network is an antisemitic and white supremacist website.VDARE is an anti-immigration, white supremacist website.The Derek Black Show was a white nationalist radio program broadcast five times a week from the Lake Worth, Florida-based radio station WPBR-AM. Derek Black is the son of Don Black, founder of the large white nationalist discussion forum Stormfront.[78] Stormfront and Black are now located on the Jeff Rense radio network.The Political Cesspool, is a weekly talk radio show syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network. It is currently broadcast from Millington, Tennessee, from radio station WLRM. The program represents "a philosophy that is pro-White", and is "against political centralization."[79]Hal Turner ran the now defunct Hal Turner Radio Network and website.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, /ˈneɪtoʊ/; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries. The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.[3][4]NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's Headquarters are located in Evere, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020. NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.[5]An additional 20 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total.[6]Members agreed that their aim is to reach or maintain the target defense spending of at least 2% of GDP by 2024.[7][8]Contents1History2Military operations2.1Early operations2.2Bosnia and Herzegovina intervention2.3Kosovo intervention2.4War in Afghanistan2.5Iraq training mission2.6Gulf of Aden anti-piracy2.7Libya intervention3Membership3.1Enlargement4Partnerships with third countries5Structure6See also6.1Similar organizations7References7.1Bibliography8Further reading9External linksHistoryMain article: History of NATOOn 4 March 1947, the Treaty of Dunkirk was signed by France and the United Kingdom as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of a possible attack by Germany or the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II. In 1948, this alliance was expanded to include the Benelux countries, in the form of the Western Union, also referred to as the Brussels Treaty Organization (BTO), established by the Treaty of Brussels.[9]Talks for a new military alliance which could also include North America resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.[10]West Germany joined NATO in 1955, which led to the formation of the rival Warsaw Pact during the Cold War.The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the Korean War initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it, by means of an integrated military structure: This included the formation of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted the Western Union's military structures and plans.[11]In 1952, the post of Secretary General of NATO was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO maritime exercises, Exercise Mainbrace and the accession of Greece and Turkey to the organization.[12][13]Following the London and Paris Conferences, West Germany was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact, delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War.Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defense against a prospective Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966.[14][15]In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance.The collapse of the Warsaw Pact in 1989–1991 removed the de facto main adversary of NATO and caused a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent of Europe. This shift started with the 1990 signing in Paris of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe between NATO and the Soviet Union, which mandated specific military reductions across the continent that continued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.[16]At that time, European countries accounted for 34 percent of NATO's military spending; by 2012, this had fallen to 21 percent.[17]NATO also began a gradual expansion to include newly autonomous Central and Eastern European nations, and extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns.[18]The fall of the Berlin Wall, a section of which is now displayed outside NATO Headquarters, marked a turning point in NATO's role in Europe.After the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany in 1989, the organization conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999 during the break-up of Yugoslavia.[19]Politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, most of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty, requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks,[20]after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq, assisting in counter-piracy operations[21]and in 2011 enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973. The less potent Article 4, which merely invokes consultation among NATO members, has been invoked five times following incidents in the Iraq War, Syrian Civil War, and annexation of Crimea.[22]The first post-Cold War expansion of NATO came with German reunification on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. As part of post-Cold War restructuring, NATO's military structure was cut back and reorganized, with new forces such as the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps established. The changes brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union on the military balance in Europe were recognized in the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which was signed in 1999. The policies of French President Nicolas Sarkozy resulted in a major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure, while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent.[15][23][24]Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, like the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. In 1998, the NATO–Russia Permanent Joint Council was established. Between 1999 and 2020 NATO incorporated the following Central and Eastern European countries, including several former communist states: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.[18]The Russian intervention in Crimea in 2014 led to strong condemnation by NATO nations and the creation of a new "spearhead" force of 5,000 troops at bases in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.[25]At the subsequent 2014 Wales summit, the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least 2% of their gross domestic products on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline.[26]NATO did not condemn the 2016–present purges in Turkey.[27]NATO members have resisted the UN's Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, a binding agreement for negotiations for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, supported by more than 120 nations.[28]Military operationsMain article: List of NATO operationsEarly operationsNo military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later a quick-reaction force was deployed to the area.[29]Bosnia and Herzegovina interventionMain article: NATO intervention in Bosnia and HerzegovinaNATO planes engaging in aerial bombardments during Operation Deliberate Force after the Srebrenica massacreThe Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the break-up of Yugoslavia. The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, ordering a no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina, which NATO began enforcing on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight. From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no-fly zone.[30]On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect the Goražde safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US F-16 jets acting under NATO direction.[31]In retaliation, Serbs took 150 U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April.[32][33]On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces.[34]In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force, began against the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica massacre.[35]Further NATO air strikes helped bring the Yugoslav wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995.[35]As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, named IFOR. Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO nations in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into the smaller SFOR, which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto European Union Force Althea.[36]Following the lead of its member nations, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations.[37]Kosovo interventionMain articles: 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and KFORGerman KFOR soldiers on patrol in southern Kosovo in 1999KFOR-MSU Carabinieri Patrols in front of the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica, Kosovo, 2019In an effort to stop Slobodan Milošević's Serbian-led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO,[38]which started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999.[39]Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land), to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo.[40]Though the campaign was criticized for high civilian casualties, including bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Milošević finally accepted the terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War. On 11 June, Milošević further accepted UN resolution 1244, under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence.[40][41]In August–September 2001, the alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest, a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia.[42]As of 1 December 2013, 4,882 KFOR soldiers, representing 31 countries, continue to operate in the area.[43]The US, the UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval.[44]The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on Yugoslavia, and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management.[45]War in AfghanistanMain articles: International Security Assistance Force and War in AfghanistanThe September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke its collective defence article for the first time.The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history. The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.[46]The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour, a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance the security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001.[47]The alliance showed unity: On 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two nations leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area.[48]ISAF General David M. Rodriguez at an Italian change of command in HeratISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban, al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan,[49]and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.[50]On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition.[51]Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into the area, to Kandahar, in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts.[52]During its 2012 Chicago Summit, NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014.[53]ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training Resolute Support Mission.[54]Iraq training missionMain article: NATO Training Mission – IraqIn August 2004, during the Iraq War, NATO formed the NATO Training Mission – Iraq, a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US led MNF-I.[55]The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546. The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the nation. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011.[56]Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War. Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during the Syrian Civil War, after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet, and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria,[57]and again in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity.[58]Gulf of Aden anti-piracyMain article: Operation Ocean ShieldUSS Farragut destroying a Somali pirate skiff in March 2010Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates, and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. The operation was approved by the North Atlantic Council and involves warships primarily from the United States though vessels from many other nations are also included. Operation Ocean Shield focuses on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider which are distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. Russia, China and South Korea have sent warships to participate in the activities as well.[59][60]The operation seeks to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and abetting to increase the general level of security in the region.[61]Libya interventionMain article: 2011 military intervention in LibyaDuring the Libyan Civil War, violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with Opération Harmattan by the French Air Force on 19 March.On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1,[62]and additional ships and submarines from NATO members.[63]They would "monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries".[62]Libyan Army Palmaria howitzers destroyed by the French Air Force near Benghazi in March 2011On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces.[64][65]NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.[66]By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member nations were participating in combat operations,[67]resulting in a confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany to contribute more, the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict.[68][69][70]In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause the demise of NATO.[71]The German foreign ministry pointed to "a considerable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama.[72]While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August.[73]Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs.[74][75]The following week, the head of the Royal Navy said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable.[76]By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets.[77][78]A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign.[79]Following a coup d'état attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues.[80]MembershipMain article: Member states of NATONATO membersMembership Action PlanIndividual Partnership Action PlanPartnership for PeaceMediterranean DialogueIstanbul Cooperation InitiativeGlobal PartnersshowNATO organizes regular summits for leaders of their members states and partnerships.NATO has thirty members, mainly in Europe and North America. Some of these countries also have territory on multiple continents, which can be covered only as far south as the Tropic of Cancer in the Atlantic Ocean, which defines NATO's "area of responsibility" under Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as the Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty.[81][82]French Algeria was however covered until their independence on 3 July 1962.[83]Twelve of these thirty are original members who joined in 1949, while the other eighteen joined in one of eight enlargement rounds.From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism".[84]Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance.[15][23]Few members spend more than two percent of their gross domestic product on defence,[85]with the United States accounting for three quarters of NATO defence spending.[86]EnlargementMain article: Enlargement of NATONATO has added 14 new members since German reunification and the end of the Cold War.New membership in the alliance has been largely from Central and Eastern Europe, including former members of the Warsaw Pact. Accession to the alliance is governed with individual Membership Action Plans, and requires approval by each current member. NATO currently has one candidate country that is in the process of joining the alliance: Bosnia and Herzegovina. North Macedonia signed an accession protocol to become a NATO member state in February 2019, and became a member state on 27 March 2020.[87][88]Its accession had been blocked by Greece for many years due to the Macedonia naming dispute, which was resolved in 2018 by the Prespa agreement.[89]In order to support each other in the process, new and potential members in the region formed the Adriatic Charter in 2003.[90]Georgia was also named as an aspiring member, and was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest,[91]though in 2014, US President Barack Obama said the country was not "currently on a path" to membership.[92]Russia continues to politically oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with informal understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and US negotiators that allowed for a peaceful German reunification.[93]NATO's expansion efforts are often seen by Moscow leaders as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia,[94]though they have also been criticized in the West.[95]A June 2016 Levada poll found that 68% of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland—former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia—is a threat to Russia.[96]In contrast 65% of Poles surveyed in a 2017 Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31% saying so across all NATO countries,[97]and 67% of Poles surveyed in 2018 favour US forces being based in Poland.[98]Of non-CIS Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016, all but Serbia and Montenegro were more likely than not to view NATO as a protective alliance rather than a threat.[99]A 2006 study in the journal Security Studies argued that NATO enlargement contributed to democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe.[100]Ukraine's relationship with NATO and Europe has been politically controversial, and improvement of these relations was one of the goals of the "Euromaidan" protests that saw the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. In March 2014, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk reiterated the government's stance that Ukraine is not seeking NATO membership.[101]Ukraine's president subsequently signed a bill dropping his nation's nonaligned status in order to pursue NATO membership, but signalled that it would hold a referendum before seeking to join.[102]Ukraine is one of eight countries in Eastern Europe with an Individual Partnership Action Plan. IPAPs began in 2002, and are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO.[103]Partnerships with third countriesMain article: Foreign relations of NATOPartnership for Peace conducts multinational military exercises like Cooperative Archer, which took place in Tbilisi in July 2007 with 500 servicemen from four NATO members, eight PfP members, and Jordan, a Mediterranean Dialogue participant.[104]The Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO: each country may choose the extent of its participation.[105]Members include all current and former members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.[106]The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all fifty participants.[107]The PfP programme is considered the operational wing of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership.[105]Other third countries also have been contacted for participation in some activities of the PfP framework such as Afghanistan.[108]The European Union (EU) signed a comprehensive package of arrangements with NATO under the Berlin Plus agreement on 16 December 2002. With this agreement, the EU was given the possibility of using NATO assets in case it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act – the so-called "right of first refusal".[109]For example, Article 42(7) of the 1982 Treaty of Lisbon specifies that "If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power". The treaty applies globally to specified territories whereas NATO is restricted under its Article 6 to operations north of the Tropic of Cancer. It provides a "double framework" for the EU countries that are also linked with the PfP programme.[citation needed]Additionally, NATO cooperates and discusses its activities with numerous other non-NATO members. The Mediterranean Dialogue was established in 1994 to coordinate in a similar way with Israel and countries in North Africa. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was announced in 2004 as a dialogue forum for the Middle East along the same lines as the Mediterranean Dialogue. The four participants are also linked through the Gulf Cooperation Council.[110]In June 2018, Qatar expressed its wish to join NATO.[111]However, NATO declined membership, stating that only additional European countries could join according to Article 10 of NATO's founding treaty.[112]Qatar and NATO have previously signed a security agreement together in January 2018.[113]Political dialogue with Japan began in 1990, and since then, the Alliance has gradually increased its contact with countries that do not form part of any of these cooperation initiatives.[114]In 1998, NATO established a set of general guidelines that do not allow for a formal institutionalization of relations, but reflect the Allies' desire to increase cooperation. Following extensive debate, the term "Contact Countries" was agreed by the Allies in 2000. By 2012, the Alliance had broadened this group, which meets to discuss issues such as counter-piracy and technology exchange, under the names "partners across the globe" or "global partners".[115][116]Australia and New Zealand, both contact countries, are also members of the AUSCANNZUKUS strategic alliance, and similar regional or bilateral agreements between contact countries and NATO members also aid cooperation. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO needs to "address the rise of China," by closely cooperating with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.[117]Colombia is the NATO's latest partner and Colombia has access to the full range of cooperative activities NATO offers to partners; Colombia became the first and only Latin American country to cooperate with NATO.[118]StructureMain article: Structure of NATOThe North Atlantic Council convening in 2010 with a defence/foreign minister configurationAll agencies and organizations of NATO are integrated into either the civilian administrative or military executive roles. For the most part they perform roles and functions that directly or indirectly support the security role of the alliance as a whole.The civilian structure includes:The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the body which has effective governance authority and powers of decision in NATO, consisting of member states' permanent representatives or representatives at higher level (ministers of foreign affairs or defence, or heads of state or government). The NAC convenes at least once a week and takes major decisions regarding NATO's policies. The meetings of the North Atlantic Council are chaired by the Secretary General and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and common accord. There is no voting or decision by majority. Each nation represented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions.NATO Headquarters, located on Boulevard Léopold III/Leopold III-laan, B-1110 Brussels, which is in Haren, part of the City of Brussels municipality.[119] The staff at the Headquarters is composed of national delegations of member countries and includes civilian and military liaison offices and officers or diplomatic missions and diplomats of partner countries, as well as the International Staff and International Military Staff filled from serving members of the armed forces of member states.[120] Non-governmental citizens' groups have also grown up in support of NATO, broadly under the banner of the Atlantic Council/Atlantic Treaty Association movement.SHAPEJFCBSJFCNPAIRCOMLAND- COMMARCOMSTRIKFORNATOHQ SACTJFC NFJWCJFTCJALLCSchoolJSECLocations of NATO's two strategic commands—Allied Command Transformation (ACT; yellow marks) and Allied Command Operations (ACO; red marks)—the latter of which has Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) as its headquarters. The subordinate centres of ACT and subordinate commands and joint force commands of ACO are also shown.vteThe military structure includes:The Military Committee (MC) is the body of NATO that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are two- or three-star flag officers. Like the council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces. The MC is led by its chairman, who directs NATO's military operations. Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from the NATO Military Command Structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members.[121] Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.[122] The operational work of the committee is supported by the International Military StaffAllied Command Operations (ACO) is the NATO command of responsible for NATO operations worldwide.The Rapid Deployable Corps include Eurocorps, I. German/Dutch Corps, Multinational Corps Northeast, and NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps among others, as well as naval High Readiness Forces (HRFs), which all report to Allied Command Operations.[123]Allied Command Transformation (ACT), responsible for transformation and training of NATO forces.The organizations and agencies of NATO include:Headquarters for the NATO Support Agency will be in Capellen Luxembourg (site of the current NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency – NAMSA).The NATO Communications and Information Agency Headquarters will be in Brussels, as will the very small staff which will design the new NATO Procurement Agency.A new NATO Science and Technology (S&T) Organization will be created before July 2012, consisting of Chief Scientist, a Programme Office for Collaborative S&T, and the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC).The current NATO Standardization Agency will continue and be subject to review by Spring 2014.The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) is a body that sets broad strategic goals for NATO, which meets at two session per year. NATO PA interacts directly with the parliamentary structures of the national governments of the member states which appoint Permanent Members, or ambassadors to NATO. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as thirteen associate members. It is however officially a different structure from NATO, and has as aim to join together deputies of NATO countries in order to discuss security policies on the NATO Council.SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA