Suchergebnisse

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) kept close track of developments in Czechoslovakia throughout 1968, but the alliance did not pursue a coherent policy toward the uprising. A close examination of NATO actions from January 1968 until the invasion on 20–21 August helps explain why a coordinated approach never materialized. Certain structural features of the alliance and a host of domestic and external distractions precluded a joint response. NATO members worked individually rather than collectively to avert Soviet military action through quiet diplomacy, but these efforts made almost no difference.

Why NATO failed to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia when Soviet and other Warsaw Pact troops invaded on the night of Aug. 20-21, 1968, to put an end to the reforms initiated by Czech President Dubcek in the Spring of that year.