Missile strike in Poland triggers talk of NATO’s Article 4 & 5: What are they and how can they cause further escalation?

A missile, believed to be Russian-made, struck Poland’s Przewodow, killing two people. “It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.” The attack has also led to talks of NATO’s Article 4 and 5 surfacing, with the official handle of the Polish president tweeting a message that reads: “President @AndrzejDuda: I informed @jensstoltenberg, @POTUS, @RishiSunak and @OlafScholz that our ambassador will participate in the North Atlantic Council and that it is highly probable that he will request the activation of Article 4, i.e. allied consultations.” Prezydent @AndrzejDuda: Poinformowałem @jensstoltenberg, @POTUS, @RishiSunak i @OlafScholz, że nasz ambasador będzie uczestniczył w Radzie Północnoatlantyckiej i że jest wysoce prawdopodobne, że wystąpi z wnioskiem o uruchomienie art.4., czyli konsultacji sojuszniczych 📍@BBN_PL — Kancelaria Prezydenta November 15, 2022 So, what is NATO’s Article 4 and 5 state and why are talks about it emerging after the attack? It states that the parties to the NATO treaty “agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” It further says that each member of NATO must take “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” It also authorises the alliance to launch an armed response, but the wording is broad and leaves room for other types of action. However, US President Joe Biden and his administration have reiterated the US’ commitment to Article 5 with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying, “If there is any aggression anywhere, on NATO territory on NATO countries, we the United States, all of our allies and partners will take action to defend every inch of NATO territory.