WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s plan to cut foreign aid as part of a proposal to boost defense spending by $54 billion is receiving serious blowback from a somewhat surprising group: former military leaders, who say major reductions to the State Department, especially development aid, would pose a serious risk to national security.
More than 120 former three- and four-star generals signed a letter late Monday opposing cuts to the State Department and development agencies that are “critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men and women in uniform in harm’s way.” Among those signing were former CIA director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO supreme allied commander.
Trump aides announced Monday that he would propose cutting $54 billion largely from other programs to fund the boost in defense spending, and that much of that reduction would come from axing the budgets for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development by 37 percent.
The State Department budget makes up about 1 percent of federal spending.
“Even though it’s tiny — only 1 percent — the leverage that foreign aid exerts on behalf of U.S. security interests is incredible,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Dan Christman, who signed the letter, told McClatchy. He said the biggest misconception about foreign assistance was that it was simply money the U.S. donated to other countries.
“If the argument is ‘America first,’ this account is doing that. … This leverage in many respects is putting American interests first and at the same time helping address serious issues in these countries that can downstream necessitate U.S. troops,” he said.