Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s first official phone call after arriving at the Pentagon yesterday following his confirmation and swearing-in was to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, to assure him that the U.S. was back after four years of tumultuous relations with the Alliance. “The two leaders discussed the importance of our shared values, the current security environment including maintaining a strong NATO deterrence and defense posture, and the ongoing missions in Afghanistan and Iraq,” reported the Pentagon readout. “They also briefly reviewed the upcoming NATO Defense Ministerial and agreed to discuss it again in more detail in the coming weeks.”
During an appearance on CNBC on Jan. 21, Stoltenberg expressed relief at the change in Washington. He said that “President Biden and the inauguration of him as the new President represents a new chapter for our Alliance because Joe Biden is such a strong supporter of NATO.”
