NATO TO NAMTO

Groups of nations signing treaties which pledge all to combat against other nation(s) who may have signed similar agreements has been used as short-term deterrent against any of those grouped nations being attacked or invaded. However, long term such agreements bring greater risk to those nations when unavoidable conflicts break out between subset nation(s) of one pact versus subset nation(s) of another.

Instead of these formal pacts we desire the flexibility of defense training co-operatives where participating states plan and carry out in relatively short term their joint military exercises while stating common defense, diplomatic, resource and territorial interests without formal clauses that automatically invoke associated states to war in all cases should one of theirs come under attack. Thus when an associated state is brought into conflict, the other states associated are not needlessly forced to immediately come to their defense all at once but should associates need to step in it is in whatever numbers deemed necessary. Sometimes the smaller state may be able to adequately defend itself and may only need indirect support of the coalition. Thus small conflicts need not guarantee invocation of greater war.

Such a less formal cooperative structure encourages associated nations to re-assess each other's status as allies more often and quicker without the constrictions of entangling alliances by treaties. It will also incentivize against associate nations dropping their defense postures and budgets while solely relying on the backs of more major players under their common treaty groups. Mutual and periodic joint saber-rattling is the more show-and-tell indicator of dedication from associates and of outward resolution against common foe(s).

In light of all this we would convert NATO into a more informal and flexible NAMTO - the North Atlantic Military Training (or Tactical) Organization where the most formal agreements are the where's and when's of the associated states next joint military exercises. This structure will lead to stronger individual states with initial options towards mutual combat, avoidance of wider-scale wars and the preparatory bravado of which will speak better to their common goals.