Ash Carter, who is returning to Harvard after serving as secretary of defense under President Obama, on Tuesday criticized what he called the Trump administration’s lack of clarity and order in global affairs.
“It can be sometimes hard to tell which direction policy is headed,’’ Carter said in an interview. “You see that, of course, in the case of Russia, but also Europe and NATO.’’
Carter said he hopes President Trump would “stand strong against Russian aggression’’ in Europe and Syria.
As president-elect, Trump described NATO as “obsolete.’’ He has praised the organization since taking office, while demanding that member nations contribute more money to the alliance.
Trump has also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his government’s meddling in the presidential election and aggressive posture in Crimea and in Syria, where Russia is backing the government in that country’s long and bloody civil war.
In the interview, Carter said he has spoken to Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, whom he knows well. But he declined to answer further questions about Trump and military affairs.
Carter, who led the Pentagon for the final two years of the Obama administration, is returning to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was previously a professor.
He will serve as a professor of technology and global affairs and as director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. In that role, he will succeed Graham Allison, who has led the Belfer Center since 1994. Allison will continue to serve as a professor of government.
Carter, a physicist by training, said he hopes to use his position at Harvard to foster closer ties between the tech world and the Department of Defense.
As secretary, building those connections was one of his priorities. He established Pentagon outposts in Boston, Silicon Valley, and other tech hubs and enlisted prominent executives from Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, and other companies to advise the department.
“A great university is a perfect place to find this combination of young people and innovative ideas,’’ Carter said.
Michael Levenson can be reached at michael.levenson @globe.com.
