A Two-Prong Foreign Policy (excellent letter to the editor)

[ProSense]

A Two-Prong Foreign Policy

Monday, August 11, 2008; Page A14

Walter Pincus's Aug. 4 Fine Print column, "How Foreign Policy Functions Shifted to the Pentagon," highlighted the growing militarization of American foreign policy.

Fortunately, there is an emerging bipartisan consensus on the need to rebalance the tools of statecraft to grapple with the increasingly complex nature of international conflict and competition. This means measuring national strength by not just the number of carrier strike groups and bombers but rather a more complete arsenal of economic, diplomatic and moral, as well as military, power.

The shift of funds from foreign aid and diplomacy to the Defense Department -- as highlighted by the testimony of top department officials during last month's Foreign Relations Committee hearing -- shows that we are unfortunately moving in the wrong direction. It is not a matter of giving the Defense Department the authority to conduct diplomacy but of giving the State Department the resources it needs for diplomacy.

We need a new commitment to the coordinated use of all of America's assets: the strength of our arms, the force of our diplomacy and the power of our ideals.


LEE F. GUNN


President

American Security Project


Washington

[Hope And Change]

1. K & R!

[Island Blue]

2. Kick!

[globalvillage]

3. Good Stuff at the ASP site. K&R.

The American Security Project is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.

The principal threats to American national security are not unique to the United States, but are common to allies and other nations around the world. Terrorism and weapons proliferation, to cite just two, are shared dangers that require global consensus and a common response.

ASP believes that we must restore American leadership in the world and recommit to cooperation with other nations to enhance our national security and to find the common ground that will strengthen security across the globe.

http://www.americansecurityproject.org/about