The Trump Administration’s proposal to hike military expenditures at the expense of foreign assistance is being challenged by a group of former military leaders.
“We believe in the premise that the nation needs hard power (planes, tanks, warships, well trained combat troops) and soft power (diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign aid, disaster relief, literacy training) in order to create real security,” Admiral (ret.) James Stavridis tells The Cipher Brief.
Stavridis is one of more than 120 retired generals and admirals who signed a letter opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to foreign aid to offset a proposed 10 percent increase in military spending. Others signing the letter include Marine General John Allen, the former top commander in Afghanistan; Admiral Jonathan Greenert, former Chief of Naval Operations; Army General David Petraeus, former commander of forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq and former CIA Director; and General James Conway, former Marine Commandant.
The letter – addressed to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schmuer (D-NY) – states, “We know from our service in uniform that many of the crises our nation faces do not have military solutions alone – from confronting violent extremist groups like ISIS in the Middle East and North Africa to preventing pandemics like Ebola and stabilizing weak and fragile states that can lead to greater instability.”
It notes that “The State Department, USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps and other development agencies are critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way.”
Stavridis, who previously served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander and is now Dean at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, says the purpose of the letter is to “encourage Congress to look carefully under the hood of these proposals and find a reasonable level of balance in terms of financial support from the taxpayers.”
White House officials said President Donald Trump plans to propose an increase of $54 billion in military spending, while cutting nonmilitary programs. According to news reports, the proposal includes a 37 percent cut to the State Department and USAID budgets. Further details of the proposed 2018 budget will not be released until later next month.
“While not unprecedented as an idea, the concept of directly cutting diplomacy and development to fund combat operations has not been so dramatically proposed [under past administrations]; nor has there been such a significant level of pushback from senior military publicly,” comments Stavridis.
Kaitlin Lavinder is a reporter at The Cipher Brief. Follow her on Twitter @KaitLavinder.
