Acting chief Esper presses NATO on spending

BRUSSELS » On his first international trip since his sudden ascent at the Pentagon, acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday called on NATO nations to press Iran to return to negotiations with the United States and asked themto join an effort to bolster naval security in the Persian Gulf.

The longtime Army officer, policy adviser and Raytheon lobbyist also emphasized his deep ties to Europe at themeeting of NATO defense ministers.

“I’m no stranger to NATO,” he said, citing years spent deployed in Italy and participation in alliance exercises.

And he moved to reassure NATO allies that the revolving door at the top of the Defense Department would not affect U.S. strategy at a moment of high tensions with Iran and the prospect of a new arms race with Russia.

“The purpose here is to avoid war with Iran. What we want to do is to get this off the military track onto the diplomatic track,” Esper told reporters Thursday. “This could escalate out of control if we don’t get it back in the box.”

He said the United States would offer further Iran-related intelligence briefings to European allies in July.

Esper is the third defense secretary in sixmonths, and his predecessor, Patrick Shanahan, made it to only a single NATO meeting. Esper’s focus on his European bona fides was an implicit contrast with Shanahan, who had few connections to policymakers in Washington or abroad when he arrived at the Pentagon after a long career at Boeing. Shanahan resigned last week after accounts surfaced about his contentious divorce.

NATO allies viewed President Donald Trump’s first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, as a bulwark against his most unpredictable impulses, and they feared that Mattis’ departure at the end of last year would remove a roadblock against White House anger toward Europe.

By now, European leaders appear resigned tomaking the best of the situation regardless of who occupies the seat. For allies battered by 2½ years of Trump’s skepticism, Esper offered some strategically reassuring words.

“We’ve had no change in our commitment to NATO,” Esper said. “My goal is to strengthen our alliance and improve our readiness.”

Esper repeated U. S. desires for increased NATO defense spending.

“Adequate funding underpins everything that we do, and much more needs to be done,” he said.

Europeans appeared happy to embrace Esper and move on. Some downplayed the differences among the Pentagon chiefs.

“They are three different persons, but for me what really matters is that they are conveying the same strong message,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. Esper “has actually served in Europe, as a U. S. soldier, and that just highlights that he really understands the transatlantic bond and the importance of the U. S. military presence in Europe.”

Trump said last week that he would nominate Esper as defense secretary, reflecting a feeling in Washington that the Pentagon needs a Senate- confirmed leader amid mounting fears of conflict with Iran.

“Jim Mattis was a real and important figure in his strong stance, but during the last six months we’ve seen continuity,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis. “I don’t have any doubts that it will continue.”

But there was also acknowledgment that Trump will call the shots on Washington’s relations with the rest of theworld, regardless of whom he picks as his subordinates.

“The idea that Trump can now be captured or controlled by the Washington crowd has by now been discredited,” said Tomas Valasek, who served as Slovakia’s ambassador to NATO and now heads the Brussels office of the Carnegie think tank.