History of NATO Atlantic Treaty, which was signed by US President Harry S. Truman in Washington on 4 April 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down". Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, anti-membership riot in March 1949. The creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Chairman of the NATO Military Committee The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. He is the senior military spokesman of the 29-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. The Chairman is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He is assisted by the Deputy Chairman, who advises the Deputy Secretary General and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for