NATO Expansion. This bill (H.R. 3167) supports President Bush’s plans to further expand NATO and authorizes military assistance to several countries in the former Soviet bloc. NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established as a regional arrangement under the United Nations for the ostensible purpose of containing Communism. Now that "post-Soviet" Russia is a partner in NATO, that rationale no longer applies. But NATO is still useful to the world order architects by providing the means to deploy troops for UN missions without placing those troops directly under the UN. It also commits the U.S. to defend any NATO member that is attacked.
The Senate passed H.R. 3167 on May 17, 2002 by a vote of 85 to6 (Roll Call 116). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
