of nato. nato daily broad range of new challenges including piracy and terrorism, original global security conflict, humanitarian crises, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber, and the list goes on and on. in the face of this strategic and other concerns, in the aftermath of the warsaw summit that focuses on various issues that we're going to detail including the modernization of the alliance, deterrence, defense posture and projecting stability in the region and all that, really the question arises for us as both professionals, academic and future scholars and diplomats and so on. basically whether the 28 nation members of nato, and some are represented in this audience, will continue to play the central role, political role, the military role in the coming months and years. and we can really go into a very long list of the challenges which are in the front pages of the media every single day. so with that i would like to invite richard prosen to share with me the moderation of

of nato. nato daily broad range of new challenges including piracy and terrorism, original global security conflict, humanitarian crises, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber, and the list goes on and on. in the face of this strategic and other concerns, in the aftermath of the warsaw summit that focuses on various issues that we're going to detail including the modernization of the alliance, and projecting stability and all that, really the question arises for us as both professionals, academic and future scholars and dips and so on. basically, whether the 28th nation members of nato, and some are represented in this audience, will continue to play the central role, political role, the military role in the coming months and years. and we can really go into a very long list of the challenges which are in the front pages of the media every single day. so, with that i would like to invite a person to-to-share the moderation of this event and introduce some of his colleagues and we

defended within nato than outside nato. so, i don't think it is that europetate has lost its will to exist. on the contrary, you still have countries in europe cueing up to become members of nato. if you ask ukrainians and georgians, the people living in ukraine and georgia, they would very much like to join nato. they cannot at the moment, but maybe once in the future. so, i think, the fact that we have enlarged nato, the fact that a lot of countries are killing up to become members of nato are a testament to the fact that europeans know at least how important nato is for security. host: we would be interested in hearing from a few callers outside of the united states in this segment. if you are out of the united .tates, 202-748-8003 democrats, 202- 748-8001. -- democrats, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8001.ww.c-span.or >> actually, i did not know until the very last moment when it would be possible because one nation, namely turkey was strongly opposed to my election as secretary-general of nato. host: why? >> i don't know. maybe

nato created the vgtf. a smaller unit of about 5,000 troops like infantry that should be able to be deployed within two to seven days. the first units of about 1,500 troops in two days and the rest of the 5,000 within seven days. at warsaw, we saw some of the most -- more significant steps taken. the most famous of which have been the efp, the enhanced forward presence, four battalions deployed in the east, but in addition to that, we must also remember that through the president obama european reassurance initiative, the united states is also putting a third combat team in europe on a rotational basis. we're also seeing greater deployments in the black sea region, with the uk, canada, poland, pledging to send some fighters for rotational exercises, which the alliance sometimes calls black sea air policing. but they'll be there a limited time. these are the ones nato is making a huge -- russia is making a big impact about and even nato it's self i feel is exaggerated the extent to which the military capabil

delegation at nato on 9/11. and within 24 hours of the subject being put on the table of the declaration of article 5, the nac agreed to declare article 5. a couple of days, when the united states requested certain support from the allies, within 24 hours, everything the united states requested had been granted by the allies. so when there a crisis, sometimes the nac can move quickly. doesn't mean we can't do better. >> once again, we're way over time. so that's why you've asked me to talk. i want to thank our distinguished panelists for a very, very discussion here. i would only add that -- of course i'm an old-timer now. when i have the privilege of commanding the nato strategic reserve forces in the late '70s and early '80s, we invoked, we didn't worry so much about central so much about central europe. our whole effort really was on the flanks of nato, and we mad a maritime thought process and a maritime strategy. we had sink land and sack land, as you would call it, and the like. and we talked about a much

nato help us respond in afghanistan to the strikes on an 9/11.sh on for a while, nato and russia had a great relationship was cold on 9/11. for a while, nato and russia had a great relationship after the cold war, especially with goodwin have what forces on location, so for a while, things went well. i think there was a lot of hope that nato could transition into an institution that was not about collecting the collective security. that is the point areas where we joint security threats around the world, where military responses might be needed. unfortunately, russia's actions in ukraine showed that it was not necessarily going to be the case. i would point out it was russia that started in ukraine the aggression that has led not to .he annexation of crimea it is clear, as well, that the irregular troops in the separatist forces in eastern ukraine are perhaps guided by russian forces on the territory of ukraine. from scotland and i want to go back to a tweet during the december month saying they would soon be calling me exit."rigg any reaction? guest: mr. trump at that time, he has m

nato is not the most popular. -- the most popular in many nato countries. what i find in the u.s., we talk about the united states and nato. no, it is always a we. we are nato. the u.s. air man, soldier, sailor, marine is a nato soldier, sailor, marine. we have to start talking about this as it gets inside that lives inside of us. what i found so interesting in public support -- i was involved at the state department during the 2002-2004 nato enlargement, when we brought in seven countries in central and eastern europe. we went across the country. -- across the country explaining why that was important to build support. we need to do that everyday. not just build up for when an important ratification happens. we have to start talking to the american people about why nato is important. its values, its role. colleagues, its role is as important today as it was in 1949. mr. putin is reminding us of that everyday. thank you. jon: europe seems clean and easy compared to the middle east. quite frankly, we have not had the same kind of partnership europe ande had

we are nato. soldier sailor marine is a nato soldier, sailor, marine. we have to start talking about this as it gets inside that lives inside of us. what i found so interesting in public support -- i was involved at the state department during enlargement,4 nato when we brought in seven countries in central and eastern europe. we went to -- we went across the .ountry we need to do that everyday. not just build up for when an important ratification happens. we have to start talking to the american people about why nato is important. colleagues, its role is as important today as it was in 1949. and we are reminded of that everyday. thank you. europe seems clean and easy compared to the least. frankly, we have not had the same kind of partnership there like the one we talked about in asia. the middle east has had external security guarantors for half of the millennium, 500 years. we have been the most recent of them. the u.s. came into the middle east after world war ii with a deep sense that we would do external security guarantees right, protecting the r

transatlantic relations, and the future of nato. as a wii, we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. host: good morning. president obama is in peru today for the closing session of the a-10 conference. it is his final foreign visit as president before leaving the white house on january 20. he returns early tomorrow morning. and then on tuesday, the president will issue the medal of freedom awards to the nation's highest civilian honors to 21 individuals, including bill and melinda gates, actor robert redford, actress sicily tyson, singer diana ross, and veteran sportscaster villanova scully. it is sunday, november 20, and we begin this morning with the intersection of broadway, president-elect donald trump, and the cast of "hamilton." it's what people have been talking about over the last 48 hours. donald trump demanding an apology from the "hamilton" cast. we want to get your reaction to all of this. for democrats, 202-748-8000. republican, 202-748-8001. for indep

nato/russia council. we have gone over and above what we should have had to do to try to make it clear, i mean, i remember discussions in the '90s about russia becoming a member of nato. i mean, we have in so many ways shown that they should not be considered a threat, and we can't change their perception, but we didn't ignore it. we took it seriously and we tried to bring them along. i mean, it clearly didn't work, but i don't think that means we should change our policies. >> thank you, judy. that puts in history, as we agree to factor in history, longer term. remember that when nato, after the iron curtain fell and after russia became the russian federation of the soviet union, we offered a special relationship to russia with nato. and they accepted it, and there were some significant actual substantive exchanges in the 1990s. but my role is not primarily that of historian or commentator. for those of you who don't know, this panel, since we started 15 minutes late, is snnow schedule to go to 2:30. i'm

nato need guest: absolutely.eah, well, you've just seen how nato has responded to russian aggression in eastern europe. ukraine,sian attack on nato decided to reinforce deploying efense by .ore troops in the middle east, the area where i do believe that trump administration could use nato much more -- host: anders fogh rasmussen, 2014.009 to of "the will to lead." we'll be talking about nato for the last half-hour of the program, he's here to answer questions and comments. phone numbers, 202-748-8000, democrats. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. specially line for those outside of the united states, love to bring you into the 202-748-8003. louisiana, m republican, malcolm, you are on anders fogh rasmussen. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: first of all, like to guy a statement on that that was before, i am tired of hearing them comparing trump to ber. obama just bypassed all kind of all over the place and he far ruled as king or -- as as with nato. host: the caller made that

we could develop the same paradigm with nato and russia. there has been pushback from russia for a while. they only want to deal with the u.s. now they're more open to doing this with nato. that would be a great first step. inc, whatever, there. if i misheard you or, forgive me, i am not a fan of we're america, we don't have to sort of, you know, get excited. i think that our inaction in a couple of places, especially, as it relates to crimea have bought us some problems. i think the people of donetz and luganst have been how things went with them. >> i'm sure those people have opinions about whether the united states should done more for them. i get it. if i were them i would have wanted it too. in all history they would love someone else come ride to the rescue. the question for me is, do i want to potentially increase conflict between the united states and the soviet union for something that is peripheral to u.s. interests, sorry, russia. all this talk about, all this cold war mentality to my right has bottom me -- [laughter] but, i want

no that they are better defended within nato than outside nato. i don't think it is correct to state that europe has lost its will to exist. on the contrary you still have -- if you ask ukrainians and georgians, they will very much joined nato. maybe once in the future. i think the fact we have , countries are queuing up to become members of nato and are a testament to the fact that the europeans know how important it is. >> special line, if you are -- is the number to call. independents, 748 8002. how does one become secretary-general of nato? >> that's a good question. i chose as prime minister of denmark for eight years, before i was selected as general of whethert i didn't know it would be possible. one nation was stronger to my election of nato. maybe some of you recall in 2006 we had the cartoon crisis in denmark. they had published some drawings . muslims -- we extend a lot of violence in the arab springs. that's what the turks publicly loot -- publicly used. eventually they accepted. host: did it have to be unanimous? >> yes. that is anoth

putin cited nato, saying russia have doing what is necessary to protect had self amid nato's expansion. for its part, nato offered this understatement, saying the new missiles do not help, quote, lower tensions or restore predictability toward our relations. the trend is not new, and putin talked about nato expanding in an oliver stone documentary that happened to air just last night on russian tv. we're concerned with the decision-making process, what should we do, he asked, we need to take countermeasures, meaning to aim wep witness at -- weapons we consider to be threatening us. think about nato every day, what does this mean? markers, as far as he's administration is pretty much over. president obama, and this is one more thumb in his eye, but it's also a message to the europeans, to say that the russians are going to have a very muscular presence on the baltic and that nato may not be as strong as the europeans are hoping it is, especiallyive goen the rhetoric. here. >> if you interpret this analytically as a message to the outgoing obama administration, step to the incoming trump

would he come to their defense which is required under the nato treaty. he said first, i would be check what their level of contribution had been to nato. and that's quite a departure, because the commitment of the united states and other members have are basically an attack on one is an attack on all. the question is, is this a negotiating tactic or does this indicate a fundamental rethinking of what nato should be? >> stewart: it's interesting one of the goals of nato for its 28 members is that each will intend 2% of its gdp on defense and as of 2015 only five of the 28 countries had done so the united states being one of them. so in his mind is this tractional, you haven't contributed and so if you are going to depend on us we expect something from you? >> well alison i think you have gotten to the core of what one of the big differences between the trump world view and the conventional world view including his own party's that in the years or the decades since world war ii and since the creation of nato, more than 50 years ago, the concept has been th

here was donald trump talking about nato. >> the 28 countries of nato.fair share. we're defending them, they should at least be paying what they should be paying by treaty and contract. >> is there a point at which he sits new around with enough folks in government, the people you're surrounded with, who explain this is more than a contract issue? >> i think the republicans in washington as well as the bipartisan consensus have always understood that nato is not a protection racket. it's based on common principles and a common view of freedom in the atlantic area. and i suspect that that message is going to come through loud and clear from people like senator mcconnell and others who have dealt with foreign policy for a long time. at the very least, we have to hope so, because i think nato is a bipartisan issue, and not simply a matter of who's pulling their weight at any given moment. the united states contribution to nato is always going to be larger, because we're the largest member, but it also serves our interests and common security. and that is so

president-elect trump about nato.pport will there be? will there be expectation as president-elect trump has talked about. all nato countries will need to step up defense spending to meet that 2% expectation. of course, a lot of nato countries don't do that. britain does, poland does. that message will be listened to. this country has a very heavy debt. the people of greece will listen to president obama about debt relief. they hope that president-elect trump -- >> and there goes nic's signal. >> i would say we appeared to have lost the feed. >> nic is always such a pro. i'm sure he was wrapping up. >> the president's got a strange job to do. the president has to sell president-elect trump to the world right now. it's clear this is not something that president obama foresaw or wanted to do. now this current president who is really doing back flips right now to smooth this transition and create confidence domestically and internationally goes overseas to tell america's allies and nato allies that trump will be here for

nato policy. what bugged putin was a sudden epiphany that having ukraine sign this deal would be bad for russia, after saying, publicly, on the record, he didn't care if the eu signed these deals with his neighbors. he had never viewed up until 2013, eu deals with armenia or ukraine or georgia or moldova has a threat. he has viewed nato differently. so it was a change on putin's part, not a change on our part. and again, ukraine and georgia wanted to sign these agreements. we didn't press them into doing it. they were criteria and adjustments they had to fulfill. this was a choice of moldova and not something we forced. >> and to follow up in ukraine at the time, 2013 before the revolution, there was almost -- there was very, very low support for joining nato among the population. and now the situation has changed dramatically. exactly because of russian aggression against ukraine and invasion and takeover of crimea. >> germans and others are even less inclined to support that. >> to support -- >>

nato partners. reality has a very healthy way of bringing any of those rhetorics down to earth, rhetorical comments. they'll be reassured by obama, but frankly they're going to wait and see what donald trump does during the transition. so far he's sending reassuring signals that he's thinking about things, but this is a president who is fundamentally unprepared to take on these issues and he's got a lot of homework over the transition. the people he puts in place are going to send very important signa signals. so those of us who care about the foreign policy relationships hope he puts long standing professionals in there who he can trust who will reassure the world. he could go the other way. we just don't know. it's going to be a riveting transition for the next couple of months. >> i'm going to take a quick break. hopefully when i come back the president and the greek president will be out there speaking. i'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ how else do you think he gets around so fast? take the reins this

member of eu, member of nato. there's thousands examples of this. how we don't enforce our own laws that allow this type of thing to happen. so things we can do for ourselves to help moldova we don't even need to go there but we don't do it so i think there's a lot of stuff we have to realize that we're going to be facing this instable east for some time to come. the european commission has said no enlargement under this current commission. i would bet there's no enlargement under the next commission. we're facing a decade at least of uncertainty and instability and we have to create new tools by which we engage in nand nato one but not only one. we have to be realistic this is the europe we're facing. it's not fixed, it's not a stable place, the potential for violence continuing is very high, particularly in this part of europe. if there's one lesson of history we've learned, wherever we turn away from the gray zones of europe, we end up paying a higher price later. so we need to engage up front and think about these things now. >> if i could just

can he afford to send the nato allies packing?an: melinda, we are all in agreement that nobody saw this coming. none of us talking heads, none of us media intellectuals, none of us journalists, whatever. my own belief, and it was rather ironic for somebody who came of age in the vietnam war era, was that the pentagon was going to save us, because last spring a number of generals said publicly, which is outrageous, under a commander in chief trump they would not serve, they would retire early. so i thought, we are safe, at least there. so that's start from the fact that none of us got this one right, and it is a bit early to start predicting what will happen. i think, however, we can say something about what ought to happen. was immensely happy to see an ex-republican use the word "fascist" in my statement. in the statement he said, i am careful with fascist analogies but he is dangerous. melinda: you used the word evil. susan: we ought to ru remember that winston churchill in the early 1930's praise hittner and the nazis got a lot

donald trump questioning nato and britain planning to leave the eu. foreign ministers are discussing their own plans for security. and gazing skyward to see the biggest, brightest moon in nearly 70 years. it is called a super moon and a site like this won't come around for another 18 years. ♪ first up, some clues as to what a donald trump presidency might look like. the u.s. president elect named the top two members of his team. prebus will be his chief of staff -- it has turned into a battle at the white house between the populace outsiders that got trump elected versus the washington party establishment. reporter: team trump is taking shape as two key positions are filled. priebus has been named chief of staff was steve bannon has been named chief counselor. >> now i will have them both with me in the white house as we work to make america great again. reporter: the seemingly contradictory report -- contradictory appointments are vintage trump. a washington insider to serve in the influential white house chief of staff position, trump is signaling a

nato help us respond in afghanistan to the strikes on an 9/11.sh on for a while, nato and russia had a great relationship was cold on 9/11. for a while, nato and russia had a great relationship after the cold war, especially with goodwin have what forces on location, so for a while, things went well. i think there was a lot of hope that nato could transition into an institution that was not about collecting the collective security. that is the point areas where we joint security threats around the world, where military responses might be needed. unfortunately, russia's actions in ukraine showed that it was not necessarily going to be the case. i would point out it was russia that started in ukraine the aggression that has led not to .he annexation of crimea it is clear, as well, that the irregular troops in the separatist forces in eastern ukraine are perhaps guided by russian forces on the territory of ukraine. from scotland and i want to go back to a tweet during the december month saying they would soon be calling me exit."rigg any reaction? guest: mr. trump at that time, he has m

david: he has had a consistent line similar to nato. he said of japan and south korea do not contribute more to the cost of keeping american troops there, he would consider pulling them out.now, to pander to be -- japan contributes more. than any other nation in the world to keep american troops. the more interesting thing was that he said in another one of our interviews that he was ok with japan and south korea obtaining their own nuclear deterrent if they lacked confidence-- conference in us. confidence in us. >> japan is a pacifist nation. david: but there has always been a white green group that has not -- there has always been a right-wing group that has not trusted the united states. this rattled the asian neighbors were looking at china and north korea. >> key to all of these foreign-policy relationships, the secretary of state. david: newt gingrich's himself out just a little while ago. he told "the washington post" he was not physically able to do the job. we thought rudy giuliani was a front runner. he may still be. the name

ally and if we don't defend nato ally, then nato is dead. to me that under scores our interest. we have an absolute interest in stopping putin and helping yuik -- ukrainians stop putin. it has been bad enough before russia invaded and intervene and it's worse. >> 30 seconds, rebuttal. >> i obviously disagree in the interest particularly in syria. that's a debate we can have later. >> right. we easily expand to how to deal with russia. i'm trying to keep us on the sanction's topic. let's try to -- with our next round stick with our topic here. we had a question right here. you have to get a microphone and say who you are. >> george from the atlantic council. i would like to follow up on the lady's question about different mechanisms. i would like to raise a question about what are we trying to accomplish with sanctions? are we playing a role of a parent who is punishing a child for bad behavior? are we pretending to play the role of a therapist who is engaging in behavior modification and hoping that people will despite centuries long habits

our engage nmts nato.he president-elect can do immediately when he's in office. do you decide to stand down in support of the syrian opposition and work with russia to come to some sort of solution to the civil war there? i think there is a chance that executive action there by the president could flip u.s. policy on its head as soon as he takes office. some of these other areas as i mentioned, nato and iran, i think reality is going to trump, as it were, the fiction of the campaign and he's going to move less than what he talked about. >> wow, what do you make of that notion of the united states disengaging with the rebels and working with the russians in syria? do you see that as possible? do you see that as positive? >> well, that's going to be tough. i kind of disagree with my brother phil on this one because what you're talking about is there's one thing between policy decisions that you say, hey, we're going to shift the way we look at things, but there's a lot of folks on the ground, chris, who have

of nato.lso, president obama coming out and saying in essence, don't worry, donald trump is devoted to the idea of nato being an important institution. so, again, these are the things that are coming out. but, i think there is still concern about what ultimately will happen in terms of the values the west has with donald trump simply do a deal with putin or skip to a more conventional american focus on values and international nuance. >> let's bring michael into this conversation. trump is looking forward to a strong and enduring relationship. what do you make of that and is it a bad thing? >> well, look, this is a guy who, even before vladimir putin was president of russia was on record saying nato was a busted flush. donald trump is concerned with the bills, the countries that don't meet the benchmark of 2% spending on defense. we have no obligation in the united states to protect them anymore. this is completely undercutting the post world war ii european security compact created by the uni

trading partner as well as key nato member and host of thousands of u.s. troops on the ground there. as president obama tries to assure the global community about the new american political landscape an editorial in the wall street journal caught our eye in a piece called the new trump democrats, quote, even by the normal standards of post election shot it's hard not to go a gog at the skeptical of democrats trying to figure out what hit them and what to do about it. let's bring in dan, editorial page editor for the wall street journal. i'm not sure if you were able to hear nancy pelosi's news conference. technology is important and we have to build an economy that lifts up all the american people . that's something that democrats have lost the ability to do over the years. >> yeah, i think so, jon. i believe that the democrats don't even recognize the real economy out there anymore and, of course, the pretext for all of this is the postmortems at the election and the democrats decided they have to do something to reach out to trump voters, blue-collar whi

i think, nato, a strong support for nato is important. donald trump has talked about how many countries don't pay their fair share into nato. i think this was really trying in many ways to refocus attention on the issues at hand. i talked a little earlier, peter, to the national security advisor, susan reiss. a lot this was going to be in some part a fun trip for them, a place where the president had 200,000 people screaming for him when he first visited berlin in 2008 but instead talked about the intensive meetings going on, peter. >> chris jansing, traveling with the president in berlin. thank you very much. outstanding reporting over the course of the last 72 hours. i want to get right now to our panel, ryan crocker, the former ambassador to syria, iraq, and now executive professor at texas a&m university and nbc news chief correspondent richard engel joining us as well. ambassador, i'll start with you. quickly to get your reaction if i can to the national director james clapper. he resigned, not going to be here for the transition int

they have depended heavily on nato with the migrant crisis.that donald trump has said he would either stop paying nato or certainly severely curtail any of the money that america gives to nato because he doesn't feel they're effective. what is his real stance? >> i think, i wouldn't articulate that as where he stands. i think what donald trump want to do, he wants to modernize nato. he wants to make sure, number one, it is addressing and focusing on issues that we and our allies in nato feel today, that is the threat from russia. that is the threat from isis and radical jihadism and those kinds of issues. he wants a strong, vibrant nato focused on our priorities and making sure that each of those countries, each of us in the alliance carry our own fair weight. that america can't carry a disproportionate burden. he is delivering that message. they're receiving it. and i think, so far the indications are the conversations have been very positive as he has talked to various heads of nato and in the eu. liz: congressman, we're looking at migrants

in nato, president obama will deliver that message in a couple hours.ll meet with the greek president and prime minister. when he gets to germany later in the week and meets with the chancellor and the president president and italian and spanish prime ministers. the message of reassurance that he is talking about that the president-elect trump will continue with the understanding that nato and the trans-atlantic alliance is important as important to europe as the united states. here in greece, however, people are hoping to hear something about debt relief from president obama. they hope president-elect trump listens to that as well. this country is mired in debt. that's what the people feel. greece had to deal with huge waves of refugees from the middle east. hundreds of thousands over the past couple years. president obama likely to reiterate the message we heard from him before when he was speaking with the italian prime minister last month. that greece, italy and germany cannot expect to share the burden alone. why is that important to the incoming p

aryou evaluating your alliance and relationship with nato and the united states? >> erdoan ( translated ): right now, such a thing is not in question. we are moving in the same direction with nato that we have always done. >> kroft: according to one informed observer, what erdoan is really looking for is an answ to this question: is the u.s.ruly cmitted to use all militarytoresee order in threonop terrorism and protect the interests of turkey. yes, or no? it's a difficult question to answer, because the middle east is such a messy place, but right now it looks like the answer from donald trump may be yes. his aides have described turkey as a vital ally and lled for the extradition of fethullah gulen, and trump himself has suggested he has high hopes fo a closer relationship. ?jake reese, ?day to feel alive?? ?jake reese, ?day to feel ali?? quick! before santa sees! (hushed) ? ? ? hey! does santa know we shopped at sears? shhh! ohhhh. ? hey come quick...my n is finhed. es enjoyed ever since. stella artois. host one to remember coming up on "look! famous people!" we

enough money. >> i like nato.uarantee you when i get in they're going to pay. >> reporter: president obama says his successor told him that the us would remain committed to the alliance and nato secretary general has said he looks forward to work wig the president-elect. >> i'm certain that he will be a president of the united states which will leave all the commitments of the united states in the alliance because strong nato is important for europe but also important for the united states. >> reporter: this is not the president's final trip on his last visit overseas as commander in chief. next he'll make his way to germany before heading to a summit in peru. >>> traveling witness president in athens, greece, kevin cork, fox news. >>> coming up firefighters in georgia have fir hands full fighting wildfires. who lending crews a helping hand? >> a family from pennsylvania heard something really strange in the backyard. the big surprise the homeowner found when he went to take a look. >>> shoes you don't have to lac

i will be able to deliver is his commitment to nato and the transatlantic alliance. i think that's one of the most important functions i can serve at this stage during this trip is to let them know that there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to america's commitment to maintaining a strong and robust nato relationship. >> reporter: in addition to nato, european leaders will look to the president to address concerns about future u.s. positions on security partnerships and the battle against isis and iraq and syria and establishing and honoring deals on trade and the climate as well as the migrant refugee crisis which has been a major story here in greece. it's also happening on a day when president-elect trump had a conversation with russian president putin who congratulated him on his victory and said he looked forward to normalizing relations with the u.s. something there trump previously said he thought would be a good thing. that's adding to the angst of nato members here in europe. >> kevin cork early tuesday morning in athens, greece. thanks. >>> veteran

principal is an attack against one nato country is an attack against all. it has only been invoked once after september 11, nato contributed troops to the war in afghanistan. trump has said he wants to rework the alliance, if not abandon it. >> i want to help all of our allies, but we are billions and billions of dollars. we cannot be the policeman of the world. we cannot protect countries all over the world when they are not paying us what we need. >> germany defense minister asked the trump administration to clairify their position on nato. >>> there were many people celebrating donald trump's win in russia, even a watch party in moscow, polls show the russians president putin has a tense relationship with clinton. >> so this is not only the victory for the americans who defened their democracy, it gains the liberal love, no, this is the victory that the american people grew up the whole world. >> putin sent a telegram to congratulate trump. russian politicians believe trump will recognize the immigration website crashed several times overnight. experts s

we're out of nato, we're in nato. we're going to do infrastructure, build a wall, have a beautiful gold door on the front of it. we don't know. i don't think he knows. he doesn't even know who his cabinet will be. >> a plan? >> you better believe this is all happening now. all happening, coming together. i don't think this is like other -- i'm sure there is a plan. might be multiple plans. >> people are working on this stuff as we speak. i have to correct the nato thing because i hear this on the news. only five of 24e78 pay their bills. he's not saying he is getting rid of them but he wants them to pay their bills. the way you get them to pay is scare them. if the power company is going to shut off my power i'm going to pay my bill. >> there's a lot of people way. >> they are not paying their bills. >> a lot of people pay their bills in nato that isn't simply sending over the cash. troop movements, there's this is an intricate 60-plus year negotiation. >> disagree. pay your bills. >> 23 countries got to pay their bil

. >> so nato, we are paying a tremendous amount of money for nato. and it's not fair, folks.s not fair. >> reporter: that's frightening talk in places like the former soaf republics of latvia, lithuania, and estonia, where nato exercises are held to thwart the perceived ambition of vladimir putin to take them back. donald trump has been mocked here for cozying up to putin and saying nato's u.s.-backed defense guarantee is not automatic. any tampering with the alliance is a frightening prospect, says pulitzer prize-winning columnist ann applebaum. >> people are afraid of another russian incursion into ukraine. people are afraid of russian influence and russian pressure on the baltic states and on central europe. people are afraid of an expansion of the russian influence all over europe. >> reporter: the president-elect sound more statesmanlike since he won. >> we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us. we will be. >> reporter: and there are some in europe, like n.y.u. mare lepen of france, and geert wilders of the right wing freedom party in the net

donald trump has been mocked here for cozying up to putin and saying nato's u.s.-backed defense guarantee is not any tampering with the alliance is a frightening prospect says pulitzer prize winning columnist ann applebalm. >> people are afraid of another russian to ukraine and afraid of russian influence and russian pressure on the baltic states and central europe, people are afraid of an expansion of russian influence all over europe. >> reporter: the president-elect sound more statesman like since he won. >> we will get along with other nations willing to get along with us. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: and there are some in europe like maureen penn of anti-immigrant national front in france and kirk vilders of the right wing freedom party in the netherlands who see the trump victory as an inspiration. >> what can happen in america can happen in europe, can happen in the netherlands as well. >> reporter: and then there is iran. donald trump has promised to pull out of the deal to halt he does, that will be another dramatic split with the already

nato has to change. >> one of the messages i will be able to deliver is his commitment to nato. this office has a way of waking you up. >>> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> good morning. welcome to your "new day." vice president-elect mike pence on his way to trump tower in manhattan this morning. they're trying to get on the same page about these waves of appointments they need to make and who will be surrounding president-elect trump in washington. sources tell us that there's a lot of tension between the traditional and the ultra conservative over what choices should be made. >> president obama has just arrived in greece. this is one day after his first news conference since the election. the president is trying to reassure allies that donald trump is truly committed to nato. cnn has every angle of the trump transition covered, starting with sunlen serfaty. >> good morning. a trump adviser describing the meeting today between president-elect trump and mike pence as serious, given they are nearing final decisions over some top cabinet positions. but i

willis because the man who replace him has called nato obsolete and made overtures toward russia. obama said the u.s. will not abandon the decades-old military alliance and will continue to honor nato's all for one can -- principle. natodent obama: the strong relationship between the u.s. and graces of the utmost importance across democratic and republican administrations, there is a recognition that the nato alliance is vital and the transatlantic relationship is the cornerstone of our mutual security as well as prosperity. traced greecea for its compassion with refugees. over 60,000 people are stranded in greece after it there onwards journey was sealed off as orders were shot in the falcons. >> it is important we do not have any single country bear the entire burden of these challenges. reporter: as barack obama heads to germany on wednesday, the u.s. leader has warned against the rise of populism in europe. in greecet everyone was pleased to see barack obama today. they were violent scenes outside that meeting. police fired to gas on protesters who were demonstrating a short d