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
-
CNAS Insights | Russia Is Winning the Battle for Influence in Nigeria
Commentary
Across Africa, Russia and its proxies are well known for providing security and extracting wealth. In the Sahel the Wagner Group, and subsequently the Russian Defense Ministry...
By Kate Johnston
-
Transatlantic Tensions in the New National Security Strategy
Podcast
On December 4th, the Trump administration released its long-awaited national security strategy, sending another round of shock waves through the transatlantic community. The N...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Podcast
Transatlantic Security / Middle East Security
The Russia-Iran Partnership: A Geopolitical Balancing ActIt has been almost a year since Russia and Iran signed their comprehensive strategic partnership. That deal established a 20-year partnership between the two countries coverin...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Commentary
Transatlantic Security / Technology & National Security
Look Before We Leap on Artificial IntelligenceThis article was originally published on The Dispatch. A debate about the role that artificial intelligence should and will play in society, and how it will affect humanity fo...
By Jon B. Wolfsthal
