NATO and The Warsaw Pact

After World War II, the countries of Western Europe found themselves too politically and militarilly weak to prevent the spread of the communist "iron curtain" on a national level. Little time passed before the weakness was realized and Western Europe turned to a more inclusive North Atlantic Treaty. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe commited to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949. The fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries politically and military means.
Established 6 years after NATO, the Warsaw Pact was formed as a communist military alliance to maintain power over Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union gained control over both neighboring European nations and indicated to other nations that it was a major miliotary and political force. Although the ground forces of possessed by the Warsaw Pact were far supirior to those of NATO, their technology fell far behind. After many democratic revolutions within the Warsaw Pact it was labeled "nonexistant" in 1991.