Iraq Leaves Baghdad Pact: February
The Baghdad Pact(METO) was an alliance and defensive organization between Turkey, Iraq, Great Britain, Pakistan and Iran. It was founded in 1955. The idea of the organization was to link Turkey, the southernmost member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO), with Pakistan, the westernmost member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). In 1954, Turkey and Pakistan signed an agreement to create more peace and better stability in the region. By February 1955, Iraq and Turkey signed another agreement in Baghdad to resist outside aggression. By April, the United Kingdom joined the Pact, followed by Pakistan and Iran. Although the United States weren't officially a member, they supported the organization. It worked to prevent communism and influence of the Soviet Union, and create more peace in the Middle East. Due to an Egyptian-Syrian union, an Iraq Revolution, and civil unrest in Lebanon, in 1958, the organization was threatened with regional stability. Members of the Baghdad Pact agreed to have an intervention with Lebanon, except for Iran, who formally left the organization in February, 1959. As a result, the METO was renamed to CENTO, the Central Treaty Organization, and lasted twenty years.