Thread by @jseldin

#China "I don't see China right now as an inevitable threat, that we're going to have a fight w/them, or whatever the case may be" per @EsperDoD "But we do have to compete in all domains"

"Our hope is that we can get #China on the rt trajectory where they share our same values,where they at least respect int'l rules&norms" per @EsperDoD "Where they stop doing what we've seen them do to many of our partners..twisting arms&using coercive techniques to get their way"

"The murder of #GeorgeFloyd was a wake-up call" per @EsperDoD "It was a wake up call for us as well as leaders"

"I don't think what everybody appreciated, at least me personally, is the depth of sentiment out there among our servicemembers of color, particularly Black Americans"

"...how much the killing of #GeorgeFloyd & the other incidents that preceded and succeeded it had on them and what they were experiencing in the ranks as well" per @EsperDoD

"We had to better. We must do better"

"It's critical bcs, first of all, it's the right thing to do but secondly, its important to readiness" per @EsperDoD "If we're going to deploy & employ a ready ,capable force we have to have Americans of all walks, all colors, ethnicities, etc, feeling part of the team"

"We made the [@NATO] alliance more capable" @EsperDoD tells #AspenSecurity re: decision to pull almost 12,000 US troops from #Germany

"What we'll end up doing is moving forces further east" he says, w/more US rotational forces headed to #BlackSea region "#Romania in particular"

"My aspiration is also to put more forces up into the northeastern flank, as well, both the #Baltics & #Poland" per @EsperDoD

The feedback on pulling troops from #Germany "has generally been positive for most of them" @EsperDoD says of reaction from allies, though he admits Germany was disappointed

#China-"As part of #COVID, if you will, we've seen China becoming more aggressive, trying to use the tragedy of COVID to their advantage for propaganda purposes" per @EsperDoD "I think they've really overplayed their hand"

NEW: #Beirut explosion - "most believe it was an accident, as reported" @EsperDoD tells #AspenSecurity

"It's obviously a tragedy," he adds "It's a shame to see it happen. When you see the video, it's just devastating"

"We're reaching out to the Lebanese government, have reached out" per @EsperDoD "We're positioning ourselves to provide them whatever assistance we can, humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, you name it, to assist the people of #Lebanon"