The eventual North Atlantic Treaty had the general form, and a good bit of the language of my first draft, but with a number of important differences.

[2]As a fundamental component of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty is a product of the US' desire to avoid overextension at the end of World War II, and consequently pursue multilateralism in Europe.

[4] The treaty was created with an armed attack by the Soviet Union against Western Europe in mind,[5] although the mutual self-defense clause was never invoked during the Cold War.

By signing the North Atlantic Treaty, parties are "determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of the peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.

"[6] Members seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area through preservation of peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

It has also been used as a core concept for a mandate to strengthen member resilience: the ability to resist and recover from major disasters, failures in infrastructure, or traditional armed attack.

"[19] Upon its invocation, the issue is discussed in the North Atlantic Council, and can formally lead into a joint decision or action (logistic, military, or otherwise) on behalf of the Alliance.

[35] Czech Republic Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania Slovakia[40] Defensive build-up,[42][43] matériel support to Ukraine,[44] and activation of the NATO Response Force.

[47] For example, in November 2021, the Polish foreign ministry—along with Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia—briefly considered triggering Article 4 due to the Belarusian migrant crisis, but it was not formally requested.

[48][49] And on 28 December 2024, Swedish member of parliament and former minister of defense, Peter Hultqvist wanted the government to activate Article 4 in response to the 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions.

[54] The downing of an "unarmed" Turkish military jet which was "13 sea miles" from Syria over "international waters" on a "solo mission to test domestic radar systems".

[58] Chair of the Defence Select Committee of the United Kingdom Tobias Ellwood said that any deliberate attack against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine that could cause radiation leaks would be a breach of Article 5.

The next day, American congressman Adam Kinzinger said that any radiation leak into NATO countries would kill people, which would be an automatic activation of Article 5.

Legal experts have interpreted that other articles could cover the Spanish North African cities but this take has not been tested in practice.

[67] On 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, which includes troops from 42 countries.

The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two states leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously.

Article 14 notes the official languages of NATO as English and French, and that the United States government shall promulgate copies of the treaty to the other member nations.