BAHRAIN:US defence secretary Robert Gates delivered a list of demands to sceptical allies on his first trip to Europe as Pentagon chief, but humour and humility took the sting out of his push to fulfil long-ignored military commitments.
Mr Gates, who replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary, found himself needing to mend ties with Europe while also pressing for increased military spending and the urgent deployment of troops to Afghanistan. He eased the pressure with humble words, humour, an admission of US mistakes and even a jab at divisive comments made by his predecessor.
The approach, according to some US and Nato officials, appeared to work in disarming allies who had felt growing stress and strain in their relationship with the US amid differences over Iraq and the demands of Afghanistan.
One Spanish official said Mr Gates had called for a lot, but asked with "respect". France's defence minister, after a meeting in Spain with Mr Gates, noted a change in her country's relationship with Washington and said the new defence secretary was a listener.
"It is obvious that it is not the same person, Mr Gates and Mr Rumsfeld," said French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie. Mr Gates, a former CIA agent, has long had an interest in European security, having been a career Soviet and Russian analyst for the intelligence agency.