1949. United States (in order to the British Foreign Office petition) a new Army organization is Settled. The North Atlantic Treatment Organization. It was born in May in Washington DC to correlate former Soviet Union in a close circle. It is the Truman Doctrine. A few time after that, another similar organization was settled also. It was called the South East of Asia Treatment Organization. And it was formed by the South East Asian countries with United Kingdom and France (including, of course, the United States of America). There was also another treatments, like Bagdad Pact (With Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia). In those days of 1954 there was an special effort to settle alliances with every nation across the long soviet border, from Norway to Japan.
1954. French Empire was going to a certain close down. South East of Asia. Indochina was going to get formal independence from France. So there was, a half century ago, conversation to the end of the war (specially after the french defeating in the crucial battle of Dien Biem Phu against the Ho Chi Minh forces). At the same time another military organization was going to born in the rising new Europe. In 1951 there was born the first European Community that could conform in future the United European Community of nations. It was the Coal and Steel Community. It was created by a french plan by Claude Monet, french minister, the foundational day of modern idea of Europe: 9th of May 1950. In 1952 another french minister presented the idea of improving the new european alliance, integrating a new community: the “Defense European Community” (also called as “DEC”). It was a treatment that was signed by the original members of the 1951 communities: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany, Italy and France. All of them signed and ratified the treaty in 1954. Excepting France.
France was the tactical piece in 1954. It was the critical force to create a European Community of Defense, but its role of being still a world wide power made them to choose that it was too much important for them homeland security at that moment than the new idea of European Common Defense, sacrifying the DEC instead of entering in conflict with North American Authorities. So United States could help France to get out from Indochina with a better look to the Public Audience. As I said before the price was say NO to a proper defense alliance of European Nations from the former allied country: the United States of America. That is the reason why that kafkian situation that was created about the french national assembly final idea of non deciding to decide over the ratifying of the DEC treaty. That made the Renné Pleven Plan fall into the good made intention ideas, but not plashed in reality. So in 1954 the idea that won was the idea of correlate the Soviet Union instead of the improve idea of European Sovereign strategic decision about their own common defense. And that idea of creating a brotherhood of similar organizations to NATO was settled (not for much time, as you could have seen i recent year, where the only one remaining organization is the NATO, with a tremendous crisis of Identity).
50 year later from that historical day of creating the SEATO (and considearating the idea of Pleven Plan), I could resume that that alternative, the regional military authority for cultural communities is going on the right way. We are still far away from the appointments that showed the 1952 DEC plan. And after the critical situation of subordinate to United States superpower dictates in the 1956 Suez crisis and after that made french authorities to definitively put the whole french administration efforts into that disappeared idea. Now is the day when even the proper British abogue in that direction. The European Self Defense.
SEATO does not work today. Why? Huntington would say that it is because the cultural critical distance between its members. It could be. It shall be better investigated. I could say that there is no political interest in going forward in the common defense because they still have not entered in the political historical situation where Europe was after the world war. The need of Integration.But one special thing. In the world of the future first of all, before thinking about how can we defend, we must answer the question about why we must have an Army. And only if it is a satisfying answer we can go on with the proper defense to our community as ever. As our parents did in the past. Fighting for Peace.
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