Pete Sessions: “since the original North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington in April 1949, the organization has expanded far…”

“since the original North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington in April 1949, the organization has expanded far beyond its original 12 members. The amendment to this treaty that I was proud to co-sponsor with my distinguished colleagues Senators Warner, Levin, and Roberts acknowledges that we have had recent difficulty with the consensus decision making methodology currently in force within NATO. Four more European nations later acceded to the Treaty between 1952 and 1982. In 1999, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were welcomed and possibly tomorrow we will add Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia bringing the number to 26 members. The following description of this consensus requirement is taken from the NATO web site, and it says: In making their joint decision-making process dependent on consensus and common consent, the members of the Alliance safeguard the role of each country's individual experience and outlook while at the same time availing themselves of the machinery and procedures which allow them jointly to act rapidly and decisively if circumstances require them to do so. It stands to reason that with the addition of more members, that consensus will be increasingly difficult to achieve.”