NATO military chiefs now have a cohesive approach to security challenges that member nations face to the east and south, the top U.S. general said Thursday.
Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joe Dunford said alliance members had a “common site picture” during Wednesday’s NATO Chiefs of Defense Summit and were able to look at security issues with a more overarching strategy.
Dunford and his predecessor, General Martin Dempsey, expressed frustration after previous chiefs of defense meetings, in which alliance members bickered over whether NATO should prioritize its focus on the threat of Russian aggression to the east or the threat of Islamic State fighters to NATO’s south.
U.S. leaders had urged alliance members to focus on both threats at once, despite individual national security interests, in what Dunford referred to as a “360” approach.
