June 24, 2019
New Pentagon head to push NATO on military spending
Mark Esper takes over Monday as acting secretary of defense, and this week at a NATO meeting he will continue the Trump administration’s push for trans-Atlantic allies to boost defense spending to the alliance goal of 2% of gross domestic product. Esper will focus on “more equitable burden sharing,” according to a Pentagon statement.
Already there has been movement toward the goal. Several NATO members increased military investments following escalation with Russia over the past few years, said defense analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners. It’s part of a decadelong upward trend, following a post-Cold War period of “peace dividend” spending declines, said Rachel Rizzo, fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
Listen to the full conversation and more on NPR's Marketplace.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Defense / Transatlantic Security
Who Should Coordinate Europe’s Defense Buildup?Who will coordinate the surge in defense spending about to get underway?...
By Sara Moller
-
The Axis of Upheaval
Reports
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a critical catalyst for cooperation among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—what the authors call the “axis of upheaval....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Nicholas Lokker
-
Commentary
Transatlantic Security / Securing U.S. Democracy Initiative
Respect Umpires — on the Field and in the CourtroomCongress shouldn’t let the administration’s contempt slide. None of us should....
By Will Rogers
-
Ukraine War Update with Ben Hodges and Jane Kobzova
Podcast
During the past several weeks, and since around March of this year, Russia has increased the intensity of its attacks on Ukraine. Moscow is launching brutal aerial assaults on...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
