The Economist.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from The Economist. I'm your host Rosie Bloor.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world.

Scottish salmon is

is Britain's biggest food export now the fish are dying in droves. We ask what's

going on and whether a globally noted brand risks losing its cachet.

And we hear a lot about North Korea's nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile tests.

But a different type of object is currently being lobbed over the border.

Hot air balloons are sailing from north to south, filled with rubbish and feces. First up though, though.

In Washington, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins hearings on the ratification of the North Atlantic Pact.

In 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War, the leaders of the strongest military allies in the world united.

If we wish peace, we must be prepared to wage peace with all our thought, energy and courage.

That is the purpose of this treaty.

NATO was born.

The furnishing of military assistance to the Atlantic Pact countries

is designed to assist us in attaining the fundamental goal of our foreign policy.

That is the preservation of international peace.

As he signed the treaty, President Harry Truman laid out the signatory's commitments.

To consult together whenever the territory or independence of any of them is threatened,

and to come to the aid of any one of them who may be attacked.

This is the core of the famous Article 5, an assurance that an attack on one member was seen as an attack on all.

Today, NATO leaders are meeting in Washington for the organization's 75th anniversary.

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