US in bid to allay allies’ fears

US VICE-PRESIDENT Mike Pence flew out of Munich on Sunday leaving America’s allies relieved of some of their worst fears about the new administration’s foreign policy, yet still uncertain as to who will formulate it.

And for many of the Europeans who listened to Pence, US Defence Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly over the weekend, the perception of chaos in Washington also raised an equally unsettling question: How much should Europe start doing on its own?

Pence’s pledges to back Nato and “hold Russia to account” over Ukraine offered some reassurance to Europeans worried the US will abandon the transatlantic alliance. Yet bewilderment over the conflict in messaging between President Donald Trump and his top officials was a theme that emerged from those who met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Bonn last week.

It continued through the Munich Security Conference, reflecting the unusual teething problems of the administration’s foreign and secur- ity policy team.

Pence and Mattis declined to take questions after their addresses, frustrating some of the attendees who were seeking more clarity.

“The real shock was what you could call the dog that didn’t bark,” said Francois Heisbourg, a veteran security analyst and former French diplomat. “We used to see this from the Soviets and occasionally the Chinese. But to have American officials speaking in plenary sessions and refusing to take questions, it’s unbelievable.”

This sense of chaos was a lively topic of conversation in Munich, said Sandy Vershbow, a former US ambassador to Russia and deputy secretary-general of Nato.

“I’m struck by how many European representatives here have read the collected works of Steve Bannon,” he said, referring to Trump’s chief strategist, who said before taking office that the Judeo-Christian West is in a global war with Islam.

There was concern, too, over the slow start to filling posts below cabinet level in the new administration.