Final answer:
NATO was formed to safeguard US allies in Europe against a Soviet attack. The main disadvantage of NATO is managing the varied interests of its members and burden sharing.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to protect US allies in Europe from a Soviet invasion, the US, Canada, the UK, France, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal founded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. Reid used the existential threat of Soviet nuclear assault and communist expansion to justify NATO's formation and persuade the US to join. NATO's biggest drawback is how difficult it is to balance the many interests of its members and develop universally embraced shared objectives. Another point of contention is burden sharing, or the proportion of each nation's contribution to the alliance's operations and financing.