ABSTRACT
The North Atlantic Treaty states that an attack on one country of the alliance would represent an attack on all, and each country will respond accordingly. The reason for the alliance was the perceived threat of Soviet expansion—a perception reinforced by Soviet consolidation of control over Eastern Europe after World War II, the Berlin blockade, and Korea. The Soviet Union consolidated its hold over Eastern Europe after World War II in order to meet its need for a strong and deep buffer zone between the German and Soviet heartlands. One obvious reason for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to go to war, at least in Europe, would be that she felt threatened. Soviet international policies have always been concerned, among other matters, with the defense of the USSR. The main threats are seen from Russia to lie primarily in the United States and the West and secondarily in China.
