As the people of France morn the losses that were suffered on November 13th the rest of the world are wondering what these attacks mean for the future. The people of France have experienced a tremendous tragedy just like the United States of America experienced on September 11, 2001, but how the French retaliate could be a different story than that of how the U.S. handled its tragedy.
Both France and the U.S. are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was established at the end of World War II. The idea behind the creation of NATO was that the countries that are a part of the organization could seek help from the other countries in times of need. Article 5 of the treaty is where the idea of collective defense is mostly contained. The whole idea behind collective defense is that if one ally of the treaty is attacked that the attack is against all of the allies. With the recent attacks on France many wonder if NATO will step in and get involved with stopping the terrorists.
Even though it is possible to enact article 5 of the treaty there has only been one time since the original signing in 1949 and that was after the terrorist attack on 9/11. Many people across the globe feel like that there needs to be something done about ISIS, who is believed to be behind the attacks. If NATO does end up backing the French with their attacks against ISIS the United Nations have to be notified and any bombings that are being done by allies come under control of NATO. But if the allies of NATO start attacking ISIS there is always the question of how many innocent lives could be lost due to the fact that ISIS is not a “solid state”. Many members of ISIS are located across the globe and it is not always possible to know whether or not a community is just civilians or not.
If article 5 of the treaty is enacted this could be the start of another major war. Many are concerned with what this could mean for other countries that have their ideas of what should be done, such as Russia. These next few days and even weeks are crucial to what the future of the world could be.
Sarah Farrell
For Further Reading:
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/index.htm
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/16/why-nato-probably-wont-help-france-against-isis.html
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/an-act-of-war-how-the-paris-attacks-could-change-nato-s-role-in-syria-1.2662175
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/14/natos-turn-to-attack-paris-terrorist-isis/
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/paris-attacks-isil-nato-215910
Both France and the U.S. are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was established at the end of World War II. The idea behind the creation of NATO was that the countries that are a part of the organization could seek help from the other countries in times of need. Article 5 of the treaty is where the idea of collective defense is mostly contained. The whole idea behind collective defense is that if one ally of the treaty is attacked that the attack is against all of the allies. With the recent attacks on France many wonder if NATO will step in and get involved with stopping the terrorists.
Even though it is possible to enact article 5 of the treaty there has only been one time since the original signing in 1949 and that was after the terrorist attack on 9/11. Many people across the globe feel like that there needs to be something done about ISIS, who is believed to be behind the attacks. If NATO does end up backing the French with their attacks against ISIS the United Nations have to be notified and any bombings that are being done by allies come under control of NATO. But if the allies of NATO start attacking ISIS there is always the question of how many innocent lives could be lost due to the fact that ISIS is not a “solid state”. Many members of ISIS are located across the globe and it is not always possible to know whether or not a community is just civilians or not.
If article 5 of the treaty is enacted this could be the start of another major war. Many are concerned with what this could mean for other countries that have their ideas of what should be done, such as Russia. These next few days and even weeks are crucial to what the future of the world could be.
Sarah Farrell
For Further Reading:
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/index.htm
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/16/why-nato-probably-wont-help-france-against-isis.html
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/an-act-of-war-how-the-paris-attacks-could-change-nato-s-role-in-syria-1.2662175
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/14/natos-turn-to-attack-paris-terrorist-isis/
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/paris-attacks-isil-nato-215910