POUTICAL CONSULTATION IN NATO

"There cannot be unity in defence and disunity in foreign policy." These words, uttered approxi nately a quarter of a century ago, by NATO's "three wise men," hold true today, as they did in 1956.What these words allude to, is the very essence of what holds NATO together. This is the practice of political consultation. Political consultation is the most important factor for the continuation and growth of the alliance. Indeed, it is the sine qua non of the alliance which was created to counter imminent threat from outside forces to the territorlal integrity and the well-being of its member states.