Simon ran for mayor of Chiclayo in 1983 as a member of United Left, an alliance of leftist parties in Peru founded in 1980 but did not win the elections.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: "Petrogate�� in Peru

He is a member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, an alliance of businesses and scientists working towards a new global climate treaty for 2009.

BBC: Profile: Steven Chu

Portugal, a founding member of the alliance and an Atlantic nation, has always defended transatlantic ties.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Meets with President Silva

Hiatt is a member of the Democracy Alliance, a group of wealthy liberal donors led by Rob McKay, an heir to the Taco Bell fortune.

NEWYORKER: Schmooze or Lose

Russia has become a sort of guest member of the NATO alliance under an arrangement that will afford it considerable opportunity to influence that organization's deliberations but, in theory at least, no veto over decisions taken by the other, full- fledged members.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Bush's Russian Gamble

Mr. BERNTSEN: An Afghan warlord, not a member of the Northern Alliance.

NPR: 'Jawbreaker': The Hunt for Bin Laden

There are wider issues: did the cyber-attack on Estonia, a member of NATO, count as an armed attack, and should the alliance have defended it?

ECONOMIST: Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict?