Army Secretary Mark Esper won plaudits on Capitol Hill for his laser focus on modernizing the US ground force for future conflicts with Russia and China. But he will have little time to hit the briefing books to deal with an escalating crisis with Iran as he takes over as the Pentagon’s acting secretary next week.
After the Defense Department called out Iran for shooting down an American surveillance drone over international waters on Wednesday, the newly-minted placeholder will ship out early next week to Brussels, where he will be charged with quickly rounding up NATO ministers to help build an international coalition to deter Iranian aggression.
