Has NATO ever started a war?

Question

From my reading it appears to me that NATO has never initiated a war but only reacted to conflicts already happening? Is this interpretation correct? I find it important to answer as many pro-russian sources claim NATO to be an aggressor, but I have the complete opposite impression.

The list of NATO operations (List of NATO operations) indicates that NATO never started a war but only intervened.

Also List of wars 1945-1989 does not indicate that NATO has ever started a war.

I'm not interested if members of NATO have started wars themself (e.g. US did) but if starting a war was ever part of a NATO mission.

Since many comments are about what consists starting a war. I would suggest to use the term aggression prevalent in international relations.

"(a) The invasion or attack by the armed forces of a State of the territory of another State, or any military occupation, however temporary, resulting from such invasion or attack, or any annexation by the use of force of the territory of another State or part thereof,
...
(g) The sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State of such gravity as to amount to the acts listed above, or its substantial involvement therein.

Definition of Aggression, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX).

Following the definition of war by Oxford dictionary:

"a situation in which two or more countries or groups of people fight against each other over a period of time."

War

Answer 1

There are four main NATO "operations" that can be interpreted as starting a war:

• Bosnian War. NATO intervened with Operation Deliberate Force.
• Kosovo War. NATO intervened with Operation Allied Force.
• 2011 military intervention in Libya. NATO intervened to impose a no-fly zone.
• War in Afghanistan. NATO invaded in a bid to capture Osama bin Laden.

You could argue that none of these events were NATO starting a war, however. The Bosnian War and Kosovo War were already in progress when NATO intervened. In Libya, there was a civil war before NATO intervened. Finally, in Afghanistan, you could argue that the war started when al-Qaeda launched the September 11 attacks.*

Or you could interpret these as NATO starting a war. For example, the Kosovo War started as a low-level insurgency that escalated into a full-blown war in part because NATO threatened military action. In Libya, NATO attacked government forces although the mandate was only for a no-fly zone. In Afghanistan, al-Qaeda was not part of the government; the government was the Taliban, and the invasion was because the Taliban refused to extradite Osama bin Laden.

So it's up to your definition. If the answer to your question is "yes", one or more of these four operations will be the example you seek; if none of them satisfy you, then the answer is "no".

*This is the only time article 5 of NATO was ever enacted to date.

Answer 2

NATO was created as a defensive alliance to counter possible attacks from the Soviet Union in 1949. Its member states may have fought in wars as shown in your list: List of wars: 1945–1989. Your interpretations are correct because some sources claim NATO was aggressive because NATO's operations was a violation of the International laws by having targets that resulted in the deaths of civilians.:

1. NATO bombing of Yugoslavia resulted in the deaths of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. The event was well known for the bombing of the Chinese embassy that lead to the death of 3 Chinese citizens. However, NATO's intervention was caused by the Serbian government bombing Albanians in Kosovo, NATO's intention was to act as a humanitarian intervention.

NATO's operations were focussed on anti-terror and enforce blockades or no-fly zones on specific nations and providing humanitarian assistance. The operations were responses to actions by other nations but not started by NATO itself therefore NATO hasn't started any wars.

Answer 3

The members of NATO have started numerous wars that were not under the auspices of NATO itself. Your question could be read as asking about wars led by the organization itself, or wars started by its member countries.

For example, there was much overlap between the countries that invaded Iraq in 2003 and the members of NATO, although the organization itself did not get involved, because not all members supported it.