As U.S. officials lost interest in settling the Berlin crisis, one of the casualties was an independent role for the United Nations. The Americans had initiated discussions in this forum, but were then surprised when foreign delegations took seriously the search for a diplomatic solution. In evading proposals for compromise, they weakened the organization's peacemaking function, while keeping intact their plans for a separate West German state.

However, as illustrated by the Berlin blockade, a divided Germany was not simply a symbol but also a stimulus to East–West confrontation. If West Germany was to be rebuilt and integrated into a bloc of Western nations, then the Soviets would have a permanent incentive to challenge the status quo. Under that condition, the West would need overwhelming military power both to prevent internal defections and to deter the Soviet Union. Although not originally Washington's intention, the formation of a new military alliance – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – became an integral part of their West German project.