The case for U.S. diplomacy
Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, I have had a hard time going to sleep; it’s an insomnia similar to when my recently licensed teenage son would take the family car out at night. You toss and turn and think the worst.
I am sleep-deprived because our commander-in-chief had threatened to eviscerate the State Department budget with a 31% budget cut. According to the Trump administration, this cut is designed to contribute, in part, to the increase in the Department of Defense budget by about $54 billion; an increase that was not requested or needed. However, Trump promised to “to make our military so powerful that nobody will mess with us.”
As a nation, we already spend more on defense than the next seven nations combined. Secretary of Defense James Mattis put it this way: If the cuts to the State Department budget were to pass, “I would have to buy more ammunition” with these addition-- al billions. That would be one outcome, but what if more “ammo” can’t buy you better security, health or prosperity?
You simply cannot shoot your way into making the air, water and land that we share safe for all, nor can you make the world free from the proliferation of nuclear states and keep imported food safe to eat; prevent illegal drugs, dirty money and terrorists from entering the country; stop pandemics in their tracks; keep international organized crime from infiltrating; reduce illegal im migration and increase U.S. exports and create jobs at home. You simply cannot do any of this through the barrel of a gun. This can be done only with the hard work and persistence of our country’s diplomats.
In diplomacy, what does not happen can be just as important as what does. Our diplomats are on the front lines of efforts to keep pandemics from reaching our shores.
The levels of intelligence cooperation and law enforce
ment coordination with our Western allies, particularly our border neighbors Canada and Mexico, have kept us unscathed from foreign terrorism since 9/11. The diplomatic opening with Cuba, on our third (Caribbean) border, is designed to mitigate the possibility of hundreds of thousands of rafters to our shores. Thus far, it has worked well.
Our diplomats negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran that eliminates the chances of that country becoming a nuclear weapons power for 10 years and enables our diplomats, and our allies, to seek fundamental changes in Iran’s pariah behavior in the meantime.
There are virtually no Colombians fleeing chaos from that country, largely because, through 16 years and three successive U.S. administrations, we have worked hand-in-glove with Colombian officials to achieve peace in that country after 52 years of conflict. Now, Colombian security officials are working with law enforcement officials throughout Latin America to confront the scourge of cartel-financed gangs and keep people in their home countries.
Since we simply cannot provide security around the world, our contributions to peacekeeping by the United Nations enable the deployment of thousands of international peacekeepers to the world’s worst trouble spots, at a cost of only
about 12% of what it would cost to deploy U.S. troops to those same areas. Our educational institutions and our scholarly exchanges with foreign students continue to pay hefty dividends in promoting democracy and blunting the lure of fundamentalists and extremists.
Trump declared repeatedly during the campaign, “We don’t win anymore.” I disagree. These are solid “wins” for U.S. diplomacy, armed with only 1% of the federal budget. Finally, Americans are not stranded and alone when misfortune strikes overseas. U.S. diplomats are dedicated to assisting with sound advice and providing federal government services, repatriations, family reunification and medical evacuations.
Why would we want to cripple our diplomacy when it is needed most? China and Russia are trying to expand beyond their borders. Russia continues to attempt to undermine democracy in Europe and the U.S. North Korea is becoming a nuclear threat to its neighbors and the U.S. Our efforts to defeat ISIS, Islamic extremism and stabilize Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan will require the efforts of all our allies, particularly those in the Arab World. To prevent rising
instability (and a mass exodus) in Venezuela, we will have to work with our hemispheric allies to prevent chaos from spilling over that country’s borders. While the president has decided not to throw it out altogether, after 23 years, it is time to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Since Congress refuses to fund the border wall, we must continue to work intensively with Mexican intelligence and law enforcement officials to achieve even greater vigilance on both sides of the border.
And as consumption stays flat in the country, we must seek greater market opportunities abroad for export of U.S. goods and services in order to create jobs and stimulate growth at home. The successful outcome of these challenges only will be achieved through adequate funding of the State Department and those talented men and women who have earned the right to represent the American people.
I am heartened by the recent actions of both Republicans and Democrats in the Congress. The bipartisan continuing resolution provides for a State Department budget at near previous year funding until the end of September. I am sleeping better. However, the White House has signaled its intention to return to these deep cuts for the next fiscal year. I would hope that by then the president would conclude that the country needs to adequately fund its career diplomats and comes to understand that putting “America First” has been and is their mission.
Ambassador Peter Romero is the former U.S. assistant secretary of state.