Foreign relations of the United States

The United States has vast economic, political and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world.

Allies

The United States is a founder of NATO, the world's largest military alliance. The 26 nation alliance consists of Canada and much of Europe. Under the NATO charter, the United States is compelled to defend any NATO state that is attacked by a foreign power. This is resricted to within the North American and European areas, for this reason the U.S. was not compelled to participate in the liberation of the Falkland Islands for example.

Related Topics:
NATO - Canada - Europe - Liberation - Falkland Islands

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The United States also has several "Major Non-NATO allies" which is a distinction given to certain states which are unable to join NATO for geographic reasons. Each non-NATO allied state has a unique relationship with the United States, involving various military and economic partnerships and alliances. The designated Major Non-NATO allies are:

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• Argentina
• Australia
• Bahrain
• Egypt
• Israel
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Russia (Joined in 2002 as a junior-member)

Negotiations in July, 2005 with India seem to promise India's addition to this list http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/politics/19prexy.html?th&emc=th http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801646.html

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