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Article snippet: U.S. allies were apprehensive about acting Defense Secretary MORE continues to question its use. Shanahan, who has largely focused on internal Pentagon issues since he was named deputy Defense secretary in July 2017, was thrust into the acting position on Jan. 1 following the resignation of former secretary MORE. Shanahan visited Afghanistan and Iraq before making his NATO debut, meeting with defense chiefs in Brussels on Thursday and a group of defense ministers in Munich on Friday as part of his first major international trip with his new title, . Experts said allies were gauging whether Shanahan will be as supportive of the 70-year-old military alliance as Mattis was. “I think there’s a feeling that he said all the right things, but at the same time no one knows how long he’s going to be the [defense secretary],” said Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant Defense secretary for Europe and NATO under President Obama. “Will he be there in three weeks?” Townsend, who is now with the Center for a New American Security, said Shanahan’s talks largely dispelled some of the apprehensions allies had going into the meetings, with the new defense chief delivering a message of unity and promises to not pull the 14,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan without first consulting NATO. About half of U.S. forces in the country are working with NATO to train and advise Afghan forces in the fight against the Taliban. “There will be no unilateral troop reduction,” Shanahan told repor... Link to the full article to read more