NATO and the Romanian army
Autor: Costin Scurtu
Until 1958, Romania had become a faithful allay of the Warsaw Pact. Despite the critical moments occurred in 1956, that originated in the Hungarian revolution and the riots in Poland, Romania managed to avoid the “uncomfortable allay” label, if just for a short time. Romania’s ingrate position would be caused by the soviet troops whom had not yet retreat its effectives from Romanian soil.
Yet, a favorable premise raised just when the leaders in Bucharest were considering enhancing Romania’s international credibility. At the beginning of the ‘60s, the USA launched the “building bridges policy” whose purpose was to redefine its relationship with communist countries. All along different war scenarios imagined by NATO command structures, Romania was being pictured as a neutral country, its territory being considered banned from NATO raids and missiles attacks, including nuclear ones.
A new Europe was emerging, now that the totalitarian regimes in Central and Eastern Europe came crashing down and the Warsaw Pact had been dissolved. Thusly, the November 21st-22nd, 2002 NATO Summit, held in Prague, marked Romania’s repositioning within the structures of one of the strongest collective defense organization in history.