US officials have been clear about trying to get a worldwide anti-Iran
coalition cobbled together, but they won’t be getting NATO involved, at
least not yet, according to acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
Esper reported that despite pitching the importance of a global effort to “secure international waterways against threats from Iran,” he got absolutely no commitment from NATO that any of those nations are interested in getting involved.
Esper says all he really expects in the near-term is for NATO to
publicly condemn Iran and engage in military operations “in the Strait
of Hormuz, in the Persian Gulf and wherever.” He intends to try again
next month.
Esper’s effort comes amid President Trump’s talk of the rest of the
world needing to spend more on securing international waterways instead
of just expecting the US to do it. So far there are very few takers, and
couching it as an “Iranian threat” clearly isn’t working so well.
US Gets No Commitment From NATO on Anti-Iran Campaign
SecDef: US will ask NATO for help again next month
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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