US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was yesterday to spend his first full day in office hammering home one of his boss’ oldest themes: demanding that NATO allies pay their way.
Within hours of being sworn in, the US’ new chief diplomat boarded an airplane to Brussels for a meeting with some of his new counterparts, the Western alliance’s foreign ministers.
The message he was expected to carry is now a familiar one: US President Donald Trump wants NATO member states to increase their military spending and thus reduce the burden placed on the alliance’s biggest member.
Some allies, most notably wealthy Germany, are reluctant to meet a commitment made at a NATO summit in Wales in September 2016 to spend 2 percent of their GDP on their military.
Trump has repeatedly declared this to be tantamount to countries not paying their dues and US officials said Pompeo would carry this message to Brussels, as former US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had done before him.
Earlier this month, welcoming the presidents of the three Baltic republics on NATO’s eastern flank with Russia, Trump praised them over the older partner states in western Europe.
“Some of them do not make the same commitment. Hopefully they soon will,” Trump said, setting up a confrontation with Germany and others at the full NATO summit starting on July 11.
The talks yesterday between the 28 foreign ministers — along with a defense ministers’ meeting next month — are designed to prepare the way for this tense encounter.
“The main focus of this ministerial for the United States is increased burden-sharing, strengthening deterrence and defense, and strengthening NATO’s role in counterterrorism,” a senior US official said.
To support increased spending, Pompeo is expected to stress the threat posed by Russia, which the official said has “demonstrated its ability to threaten, coerce, undermine and even invade its neighbors.”
“It’s a destabilizing factor in Ukraine, Georgia and Syria,” the official said.
“We will underscore how important it is for all allies to take this threat seriously, to honor their commitment from the Wales summit to spend 2 percent of GDP and devote 20 percent of defense budgets to major equipment by 2024,” the official added. “Six countries in NATO currently do so, nine have submitted credible plans for doing so, and it’s time for the other 13 members of the alliance to step up, and especially Germany, NATO’s largest and wealthiest European member state.”
The US Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Pompeo.
The outgoing CIA director secured support from 57 senators, with 42 voting no — one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee for the job since at least the administration of former US president Jimmy Carter has received 85 or more “yes” votes in the Senate, with the exception of Tillerson, who got 56.
Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman, is expected to guide Trump’s foreign policy in a more right-leaning direction than Tillerson. He inherits a US Department of State and diplomatic corps that is deeply demoralized after a tumultuous first year under Tillerson, who pushed budget and staff cuts, and eschewed public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.
The Senate vote followed an uneasy confirmation process for Pompeo that underscored Trump’s growing difficulties in getting nominees in place for top positions.
On Monday, it appeared Pompeo would fail a vote in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, but the panel ultimately cleared him after last-minute support from Republican US Senator Rand Paul.
A long list of pressing issues awaits him, including a decision on the Iran nuclear deal and Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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