Pence and Merkel embrace NATO but differ on transatlantic partnership by Michael Birnbaum and Ashley Parker | In Europe, Pence says US will hold Russia accountable by Ken Thomas | AP | Trump’s Pick to Replace Flynn Turns Down the Job - NYT | Mattis shot back: "I have no need to respond to the Russian statement at all. NATO has always stood for military strength and protection of the democracies and the freedoms we intend to pass on to our children." - Reuters
Pence and Merkel embrace NATO but differ on transatlantic partnership by Michael Birnbaum and Ashley Parker In Europe, Pence says US will hold Russia accountable - by Ken Thomas | AP Robert S. Harward, a retired vice admiral and Navy SEAL, during a visit to Zaranj, Afghanistan, in 2011. He refused to replace Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser. Credit Sgt. Shawn Coolman/U.S. Marines Trump’s Pick to Replace Flynn Turns Down the Job - NYT - "Mattis, who has previously accused Russia of trying to break the NATO alliance, told a closed-door session of NATO on Wednesday that it needed to be realistic about the chances of restoring a cooperative relationship with Moscow. He cited Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which plunged U.S.-Russia relations to a post-Cold War low. Mattis said NATO needed "negotiate from a position of strength" as he called for stepped up military spending. That prompted a terse reply from Russia
