On overseas, tour, Pentagon chief strikes a low-profile amid friction at home with President Trump
During last week’s travels, Esper’s only public remarks were a speech at a cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia, and pleasantries made at meetings with local officials. After, Esper’s staff posted a tweet wishing the president well but declined to comment further to journalists traveling with him.
Jonathan Hoffman, a spokesman for Esper, said the Pentagon chief was focused on implementing the Pentagon strategy designed to make the U.S. military more competitive and efficient.“Regardless, the Secretary continues to give public speeches, meet with foreign leaders, conduct town halls and meetings with think tanks and industry, engage with members of Congress, and is very active on social media,” Hoffman added.
James Carafano, a defense and foreign policy scholar at the Heritage Foundation, said the role of Esper, a former Army officer, congressional staffer and defense industry lobbyist, was bound to be different from that of Pompeo, a former Republican lawmaker who is widely speculated to be a potential future candidate for higher elected office.Carafano said the fact that defense issues weren’t the subject of significant debate during the campaign provided Esper an opportunity.
“It is especially important that members of the military, their families, our allies and our adversaries understand that the SecDef and DOD are focused on the mission and the challenges and are not distracted by the political churn,” he said. “It’s a time for reassurance and it needs to come from the most senior DOD leaders — the SecDef and the chairman.
On Wednesday, Esper presented Tunisian Defense Minister Ibrahim Bartagi with a replica of a flintlock pistol used by Gen. George Washington. “This is a symbol of another very important principle that he held dear,” Esper told Bartagi before assembled reporters. “The importance of civil-military relations, civilian control of the military, and the importance of an apolitical military.”
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