But our job， even then， is to develop something better for peace. It＇s not just to fight a war. It＇s for a political reason. That＇s established by State.
We do work together. I have some development money that＇s allotted to me by the U.S. Congress because of where we operate around the world. When we spend that money， already at the highest levels of State and Defense Department， we have sat down and prioritized that money together. We don＇t go off and spend that money without State Department helping with the pen to say “what are the priorities that we have？”
MODERATOR：Thank you.
And， again continuing on this track， how is the DOD working to encourage allies and partners to build up their own defense capabilities？
SEC. MATTIS：It＇s －－ that＇s actually going better than I expected. I came here －－ I remember flying out of Denver －－ I kind of was flying in here to go in to confirmation. And I was trying to think of how do I put ＂America first＂ into， in my mind， an alliance framework.
And， as we were getting on －－ ready to take off， you know what happened. You all can recite it from memory. The stewardess was standing there， and she said， ＂In the event we lose cabin pressure＂ －－ you know what＇s coming next， every one of you， don＇t you？ （Laughter.） ＂When the masks drop， put your own mask on first， then help others.＂
So what we＇re going to do is restore America＇s economic viability， because no nation in history has maintained its military power that was not economically viable and did not keep its fiscal house in order.
So the first thing was， when I went into Brussels on my first meeting there with the most critical alliance we have， which is the 29 nations of NATO， I said －－ I used that example， and I said， ＂But I＇ve got to tell you＂ －－ I said， ＂that I＇m speaking from the heart.＂
I knew many of them. I＇d been a Supreme Allied Commander in NATO in a previous job， and I said， ＂I know many of you here.＂ I said， ＂I have sat behind Secretary Rumsfeld， when he came here and said you＇re going to have to pay more， you can＇t expect the Americans to keep doing this.＂
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