Which alliance included the United States, Canada, and Western European nations for collective defense during the Cold War?

• A. NATO
• B. SALT
• C. NPT
• D. ANZUS

Answer: (A)

This question tests knowledge of Cold War collective defense arrangements. NATO fits because it was the military alliance built to deter Soviet power by uniting the United States, Canada, and Western European nations into a single defense framework. Its core principle, Article 5, treats an attack on one member as an attack on all, providing a formal basis for coordinated military response and mutual security across the North Atlantic region. The other options describe different kinds of agreements: SALT refers to arms control talks between the U.S. and the USSR, not a broad alliance; NPT is about preventing the spread of nuclear weapons; ANZUS is a security pact among the United States, Australia, and New Zealand centered in the Pacific, not Western Europe. NATO is the alliance that best matches the description.