Key Stories on the NATO Summit

Following are Post stories on NATO's 50th anniversary summit, along with background articles on the military alliance.

Monday, April 26, 1999
NATO Summit Ends With Restoration Vow
Concluding a three-day summit meeting shadowed by war in the Balkans, NATO leaders vowed to lead a major reconstruction effort to help restore political and economic stability to southeastern Europe once the Kosovo conflict is resolved.
• In the End, NATO Weekend Was Lots of Talk, Little Action
• Clinton Coaxes Allies to Fragile Consensus
• In 'Azure,' NATO Strategists Wage a Virtual War

Sunday, April 25, 1999
NATO Widens Security 'Map'
A day after deciding to intensify their bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, NATO leaders approved a new strategic concept for the alliance that embraces military missions in volatile regions beyond their own borders.
• The Question: Can NATO Muster Will to Win the War?
• Protesters Opposed to NATO Bombings Pack Park
• Despite Summit, Life in City Goes On
• Nations Seeking to Join NATO Back Action in Balkans
• Russia Objects, Some Allies Balk at Embargo Plan
• Clinton Urges Patience With NATO Bombing Campaign
• Finally, 'Celebration' of NATO at Parties Around Town

Saturday, April 24, 1999
NATO Softens Conditions on Kosovo
On the first day of the alliance's summit, NATO leaders reaffirmed their determination to escalate the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia until their terms for peace are met, but softened those conditions in the hope of encouraging Russian attempts to mediate an early resolution to the conflict over Kosovo.
• For Visitors, the Capital Is Copacetic
• The Nightmare That Wasn't
• Summit Notebook
• Becoming 'Frontline' States
• Activists Note Rise in Arrests of Mentally Ill
• Skipping NATO to Meet Middies
• Style: The World's at Our Doorstep. It Feels Like Another Planet.
• Style: For NATO, Toasts Without Bubbly

Friday, April 23, 1999
NATO to Discuss Ground Troops in Kosovo
As NATO heads of government gathered in Washington for a 50th-anniversary summit meeting, sending ground troops into Kosovo was expected to be a major subject of discussion in a three-hour emergency session set for Friday morning.
• City Rolls Out Red Carpet for Summit
• Table Is Summit Centerpiece
• A Gilded Setting for a Golden Summit
• With Kosovo Strife, Celebration Is Out for NATO
• Style: Anniversary Marked With Muted Fanfare

Thursday, April 22, 1999
NATO Leaders Land; Downtown Closings Loom
Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 19 members began arriving for a summit that will shut down much of downtown Washington as the alliance debates the future course of the air war against Yugoslavia.
• Summit Gives D.C. a Chance to Shine
• Plans? Preparations? No Promises!
• The Uncertainty Before the Storm
• Summit Q & A

Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Live From D.C., It's NATO-TV!
NATO will broadcast a live, unedited and continuous journal of its 50th anniversary summit slated to begin Friday. Who will watch? It's hard to say, but the broadcast will serve as an unedited record of the summit.
• NATO to Set Balkans Stability as Goal
• Metro Girds for Big Day
• For Volunteers, a Piece of History

Tuesday, April 20, 1999
For Businesses, Much Ado About NATO
Washington will be anything but normal this week as the diplomats of NATO seize downtown. Business managers are finding themselves tested as they try to anticipate shifts in security cordons and traffic detours.
• Summit Q & A
• Tourism Industry Pins Hopes on Summit

Sunday, April 18, 1999
For NATO Summit, Coordination at Every Level
Washington is girding for the three-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, when thousands of foreign dignitaries and their media shadows will converge on the city.

Saturday, April 17, 1999
Schools Join List of NATO Closings
District of Columbia schools and much of the D.C. government will be closed Friday for the first day of NATO's 50th anniversary summit, along with the Federal Triangle Metro stop and most of the Smithsonian museums on the Mall.

Wednesday, April 14, 1999
Security Tops Agenda for NATO Meeting
With war raging in Kosovo and at least 40 world leaders set to gather in Washington at once, the nation's capital will resemble a police state during the NATO military alliance's 50th anniversary summit beginning April 23.

Friday, April 2, 1999
Downtown Holiday Set for NATO Summit
In an effort to reduce traffic and lower the District's collective blood pressure, nearly 90,000 federal workers in downtown Washington will be granted a holiday on April 23, the day the curtain rises on the NATO military alliance's 50th anniversary summit.

Wednesday, March 24, 1999
After 50 years, NATO Takes the Offensive
NATO's decision to attack Yugoslavia – the alliance's first strike on a sovereign nation in its 50-year history – represents a dramatic transformation for an organization conceived to protect Western Europe from a Soviet-led invasion.

Saturday, March 13, 1999
NATO Embraces 3 From Warsaw Pact
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, receiving the security guarantees and assuming the military burdens of the alliance that stood against them when they were members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.