GEOFFREY ONEILL—The NATO alliance was formed following WWll, ostensibly to protect east European countries from naked aggression by the Soviet Union. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an attack against any member nation is an attack against all member nations. Article 5, in its entire history was never invoked until Sept. 11, 2001. It wasn’t a small NATO country that needed help; it was the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world.