Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The other NATO members agreed on activating Article 5 in less than 24 hours.
The other NATO members agreed on activating Article 5 in less than 24 hours.
Tensions rising
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, that Russian rhetoric aimed at NATO members supplying Ukraine with military aid, has been increasingly threatening.
The question of Article 5
The fear is that Russia will launch an attack on a NATO member to test is the mythical Article 5 wille be honored.
But what excactly does Article 5 say? And has it ever been invoked?
A cornerstone of the Alliance
According to NATO’s website, the primary aim for NATO’s founding treaty, signed in 1949, was to create a pact of mutual assistance to counter the risk of The Soviet Union invading countries in Europe.
All for one, and one for all
The point of Article 5 is to state that, if a NATO ally is a victim om an armed attack, all of the other NATO members will come to the attacked states aid.
Basically an “all for one, and one for all” oath.
What does it say?
Article 5 is quite long, but part of the Article is as follows:
“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them (…) will assist the Party or Parties so attacked.”
What is an attack?
The world has changed a lot since 1949, where armed attacks were the norm. This means that today, it’s up for debate what constitutes as an attack.
For example, is a cyber attack an attack? Is sabotage to a NATO states infrastructure in international waters an attack?
Article 6
In Article 6 of the NATO treaty, an attack is defined to be an armed attack on:
- the territory of any of the parties
- the forces, vessels or aircraft of any of the parties, when in or over the aforementioned territories
Not necessarily military assistance
If Article 5 is invoked, allies can provide any form of assistance, they deem necessary.
This includes, but does not necessarily involve, armed assistance.
But enough of the technical stuff – has it ever been invoked?
Invoked once to support the US
When the 9/11 terrorist attacks hit the US in 2001, Article 5 was invoked for the first, and so far only, time.
Withing 24 hours of the atack, the Article was invoked, and the then NATO secretary General, Lord Robertson, informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the decision.
Not solely driven by events
The concept of “all for one and one for all” is actually an ongoing way of thinking in NATO.
The alliance has a number of standing forces on active duty that contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence efforts on a permanent basis.
The doubts about Trump
Even though the US is the only NATO country to have ever been supported by the Article 5 being invoked, US President Donald Trump has previously cast doubt on whether the US would actually honor the Article, if it was to be invoked again.
Doubts gone in Hague
But during the NATO summit in the Hague earlier this week, when asked about whether he would abide by Article 5, he said:
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here.”
