"By this treaty, we are not only seeking to establish freedom from aggression and from the use of force in the North Atlantic community, but we are also actively striving to promote and preserve peace throughout the world."

President Harry S. Truman, August 24, 1949. © NATO

President John F Kennedy in Paris, 1961. When he addressed NATO during the visit, he concluded: "I sit here, speaking for a country which is separated from yours by many hundreds of miles, but which is totally involved in your destiny".

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was not just one of the US’ finest Presidents. He was also NATO’s first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). He had also been Supreme Commander for operations in Normandy towards the end of the Second World War. © Reuters

U.S. President Bill Clinton walks with ethnic Albanian children from Kosovo. He was surrounded by them as he visited the Stankovic-1 refugee camp in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* on June 22, 1999. © Reuters

* Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.

The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber «Spirit of Alaska» taxies for take off in October, 2001. It was of the type used to bomb Taliban troops protecting Kabul and other Afghan cities during the final days of the Taliban regime. © Reuters

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev shake hands just before the start of their mini-summit in Reykjavik October 11, 1986. © Reuters

East Germans climb the Berlin wall at the Brandenburg Gate as they celebrate the opening of the East German border, November 10, 1989. © Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama touches the names of victims engraved on the side of the north pool of the World Trade Center site, New York September 11, 2011. © Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama waves to the crowd after setting out his vision for a nuclear free world, Hradcany Square, Prague April 5, 2009. © Reuters

President Obama and his national security team watch the operation to capture or kill Osama bin Laden unfold. He had only authorised the operation 48 hours earlier. When the news broke, thousands filled city streets in America. © White House

A U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jet is refuelled by a Canadian Forces Airbus CC-150 Polaris tanker over the Mediterranean Sea in 2011, whilst enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. © Reuters