During the 41 years of the Cold War, 14 of NATO’s 16 members strictly obeyed and complied with American decisions and policies. French President Charles de Gaulle was the only one to question whether an American president would actually ever be ready to launch a nuclear attack on the USSR in order to protect one or several Alliance members if vital US interests were not directly at stake.
在成立之后41年的冷战时期，当时16个成员国中的14个都严格执行着美国的政策和命令。唯一例外的是法国总统戴高乐，他质询如果没有涉及到美国本国的利益情况下，其他成员国受到苏联的攻击，美国是否会对苏联进行核打击。