Has NATO ever started a war?

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There are four main NATO "operations" that can be interpreted as starting a war:

You could argue that none of these events were NATO starting a war, however. The Bosnian War and Kosovo War were already in progress when NATO intervened. In Libya, there was a civil war before NATO intervened. Finally, in Afghanistan, you could argue that the war started when al-Qaeda launched the September 11 attacks.*

Or you could interpret these as NATO starting a war. For example, the Kosovo War started as a low-level insurgency that escalated into a full-blown war in part because NATO threatened military action. In Libya, NATO attacked government forces although the mandate was only for a no-fly zone. In Afghanistan, al-Qaeda was not part of the government; the government was the Taliban, and the invasion was because the Taliban refused to extradite Osama bin Laden.

So it's up to your definition. If the answer to your question is "yes", one or more of these four operations will be the example you seek; if none of them satisfy you, then the answer is "no".

*This is the only time article 5 of NATO was ever enacted to date.

Upvote:0

The members of NATO have started numerous wars that were not under the auspices of NATO itself. Your question could be read as asking about wars led by the organization itself, or wars started by its member countries.

For example, there was much overlap between the countries that invaded Iraq in 2003 and the members of NATO, although the organization itself did not get involved, because not all members supported it.

Upvote:20

NATO was created as a defensive alliance to counter possible attacks from the Soviet Union in 1949. Its member states may have fought in wars as shown in your list: List of wars: 1945–1989. Your interpretations are correct because some sources claim NATO was aggressive because NATO's operations was a violation of the International laws by having targets that resulted in the deaths of civilians.:

  1. NATO bombing of Yugoslavia resulted in the deaths of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. The event was well known for the bombing of the Chinese embassy that lead to the death of 3 Chinese citizens. However, NATO's intervention was caused by the Serbian government bombing Albanians in Kosovo, NATO's intention was to act as a humanitarian intervention.

NATO's operations were focussed on anti-terror and enforce blockades or no-fly zones on specific nations and providing humanitarian assistance. The operations were responses to actions by other nations but not started by NATO itself therefore NATO hasn't started any wars.

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