Whereas, on April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded as a defensive alliance to enhance security cooperation between member states and deter a military attack on the allies; Whereas the United States military presence in Europe has deterred the outbreak of another world war and protects the territorial integrity of NATO allies; Whereas the 2017 National Security Strategy of the United States of America reaffirms that NATO is one of our great advantages over our competitors, and the United States remains committed to Article 5 [of the North Atlantic Treaty] ; Whereas 29 countries have joined NATO, including most recently the Republic of Montenegro, which was admitted in 2017; Whereas continued NATO enlargement has promoted peaceful democratic transitions and stability in Central and Eastern Europe, key United States interests; Whereas NATO provides a deployable and integrated multilateral military capability, enabling the United States to rapidly shape and lead coalitions to address security threats; Whereas joint NATO planning, training, and exercises boost United States military readiness and ensure interoperability, defined in this context as the ability for [NATO] allies to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives ; Whereas NATO has played a critical role in securing stability in the Balkans, including through its current deployment of approximately 3,210 non-United States troops in Kosovo as part of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), an international peacekeeping mission in existence since 1999; Whereas NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, its collective defense clause, for the first and only time in response to the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001; Whereas NATO has deployed thousands of troops to Afghanistan, where more than 1,100 non-United States NATO ally and partner forces have been killed