Nuclear Umbrella - NATO

NATO

NATO was formed early in the Cold War and, from the beginning, assumed American nuclear power as a major component of defense of Western Europe from possible Soviet invasion. Most non-Communist European states joined the alliance, although some (Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland) instead maintained an official policy of neutrality. Sweden and Switzerland considered developing their own nuclear weapons but abandoned the idea.

NATO involved others of the five official nuclear weapons states. The United Kingdom and Canada participated in the initial American development of the atomic bomb (Manhattan Project) during World War II, but were afterwards excluded from nuclear weapons secrets by act of the US Congress. Britain launched an independent nuclear weapons program; after Britain successfully developed thermonuclear weapons, the US and UK signed the Five Eyes treaty sharing American weapons designs, eliminating the need for independent development.

France developed a nuclear force de frappe and left the NATO command structure while continuing to be allied with the other Western countries.

After the end of the Cold War, many Central and Eastern European countries joined NATO, although the original purpose of defense against the Soviet Union was by then obsolete. Some commentators opposed this NATO enlargement as unnecessarily provocative to Russia.

• Canada and weapons of mass destruction