Atlanticism

Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America and those in Europe. It seeks to maintain the security and prosperity of the participating countries and protect liberal democracy and the progressive values of an open society that unite them. The term dervies from the Atlantic Ocean, which is bordered by North America and Europe.

[[File:Cball-NATO.png]] NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, commonly known by its abbreviation NATO, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 28 European countries and 2 North American countries. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. NATO serves the role of collective security, whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party whether it be another country or a terrorist organization. The NATO headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium. As of the year 2022, there are 30 member states within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the last of which to join was North Macedonia in March 2020. NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Georgia,  Finland,  Sweden and  Ukraine as aspiring members.

[[File:Cball-NATO.png]] Cold War [[File:Cball-USSR.png]]
NATO had its origin with The Treaty of Brussels, a mutual defense treaty signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium,  the Netherlands,  Luxembourg,   France, and  the UK against the threat of  Soviet expansion in Europe at the start of the Cold War. The same year, European leaders met with US defense, military, and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, which resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which the United States signed on 4 April 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states, as well as the United States,  Canada,  Portugal,  Italy,  Norway,  Denmark, and  Iceland. The members agreed that an armed attack against any of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down".

In September 1952, Exercise Mainbrace, the first major NATO maritime exercise began which brought together 200 ships and over 50,000 personnel to practice the defense of Denmark and Norway. This was followed by Exercise Grand Slam and Exercise Longstep, naval and amphibious exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and Italy. The same year Greece and  Turkey joined NATO. During most of the Cold War, NATO's watch against the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact did not actually lead to direct military action, and NATO activity was mainly limited to various military exercises between member states.

[[File:Cball-NATO.png]][[File:Clinton.png]][[File:Tudman.png]][[File:Cball-Kosovo.png]] Yugoslav Wars [[File:Milosevic.png]][[File:Karadzic.png]][[File:Jiang Tze-min.png]][[File:Yeltsin.png]]
NATO took an active role in the Yugoslav Wars. In 1999 NATO carried out an aerial bombing campaign codenamed Operation Allied Force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War with the supposed purpose of bringing an end to Slobodan Milošević's government's ethnic cleansing of Kosovo-Albanians. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999.

NATO countries attempted to gain authorization from the UN Security Council for military action, but were opposed by  China  and  Russia, who indicated that they would veto such a measure which led to NATO launching its aerial campaign without the UN's approval. The NATO bombings were supported by many prominent western politicians such as US President Bill Clinton, US Secretary of State  Madeleine Albright,  Joe Biden,  Bernie Sanders, UK Prime Minister  Tony Blair, and German Chancellor  Gerhard Schröder.

By the end of the war, the Milošević regime had killed 1,500 to 2,131 combatants, most of whom were Kosovar Albanian civilians, with 8,676 killed or missing and some 848,000 expelled from Kosovo.

The NATO bombing campaign killed about 1,000 members of the Yugoslav security forces in addition to between 489 and 528 civilians. The bombings also destroyed bridges, industrial plants, hospitals, schools, cultural monuments, private businesses as well as barracks and military installations.

The Clinton Administration also received widespread condemnation for the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade which killed 3 Chinese civilians.

=== NATO intervention in Libya  ===

On 19 March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in  Libya, to implement  United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in response to events during the First Libyan Civil War when armed Libyan rebels took to the streets to topple the regime of the dictator  Muammar Gaddafi. While the stated goal by the NATO coalition was to save Libyan civilians from a potential massacre by the Gaddafi regime the actual goal was regime change as Gaddafi (once a western ally in the war on terror) threatened western interests in western and northern Africa.

On 17 March 2011 The UN Security Council, acting under the authority of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, approved a no-fly zone over Libya by a vote of ten in favor, zero against, and five abstentions, via United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. The five abstentions were: Brazil,  Russia ,  India ,  China , and  Germany.

The military interventions carried out by the different coalition member states went under different codenames Opération Harmattan by France ; Operation Ellamy by  the UK ; Operation Mobile for  Canada  and Operation Odyssey Dawn for  the US. The NATO intervention was supported by many other countries such as Berlusconi's  Italy which shared its bases and intelligence with the allies, as well as  Norway,  Sweden ,  the Netherlands ,  Turkey ,  Qatar , and  the UAE , among others.

The intervention did not employ foreign ground troops and all actions were taken from a distance to aid the rebels. American and British naval forces fired over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while the French Air Force, British Royal Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force undertook sorties across Libya and a naval blockade by Coalition forces. French jets launched air strikes against Libyan Army tanks and vehicles. The fighting lasted for several months reaching its climax in the wake of the Battle of Sirte in late October 2011 when a NATO aircraft hit one of the Gaddafi loyalist's convoys forcing Muammar Gaddafi now deposed of any position of power into hiding in the drain pipe where he was found by the rebels and murdered. The estimated civilian cost of the 8-months long NATO-intervention in Libya range from 73 to 400+ civilian casualties.

The fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime would also have the consequence of creating a vast power vacuum for terrorist organizations like ISIS and brutal warlords such as  Khalifa Haftar to take over much of Libya which set the stage for the 2nd Libyan civil war. Gaddafi's downfall also resulted in Libya becoming a destination and transit for millions of refugees from other African countries such as Eritrea,  Sudan, and  Mali which significantly worsened the European migrant crisis.

Right-Atlanticism
Right-Atlanticism is a version of atlanticism that is supported by right-wing ideologies such as neoconservatives. They support the west because they believe western countries embody capitalism and other conservative ideals better than other countries.

Left-Atlanticism
Left-Atlanticism is a version of atlanticism that is supported by left-wing ideologies, such as liberal socialists and liberal hawks. They support the west because they think the west upholds liberal values better than those of other countries.

Friends

 * [[File:Libhawk.png]] Liberal Hawkism - We gotta defend our liberal values from authoritarian states!
 * [[File:Necon.png]] - Communists and other radical groups pose a threat to our conservative values.
 * [[File:Neoimp.png]] Neo-Imperialism - Liberalism is the natural conclusion to a developed society.
 * [[File:Neobert.png]] - A libertarian who supports NATO and the west? Based!

Frienemies

 * [[File:Liberalsoc.png]] - We both like the liberal values of the west, and some of you guys support military interventions. However, I'm not sure about socialism.
 * [[File:Dem.png]] - Democracy is non-negotiable unless it's a country whose leader doesn't align with us. Otherwise, it's completely fine to overthrow them and install a western backed dictatorship

Enemies

 * [[File:Dengf.png]] - We gotta defeat those Chinese communists!
 * [[File:Putin.png]] Putinism - Lay your hands off our free land you fascist prick!
 * [[File:Rpop-tinfoilhat.png]]  - Filthly infiltratiors who are selling us out to our enemies.

Comments

 * [[File:Panth.png]] Pantheonism - Mmmm, I am sceptical.