Soft power important

I believe President Trump’s “hard power” national security budget is fundamentally flawed. Slashing our modest international affairs budget and increasing Pentagon spending erroneously assumes that our U.S. military alone can meet our national security needs. As Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham noted, “If you take soft power off the table, then you’re never going to win the war.”

An important component of America’s soft power is our international affairs engagement, which is cut by a third in the Trump budget. Today we spend just 1 percent of our country’s discretionary budget—one penny of every dollar—on diplomacy, international institutions and foreign aid, all of which advance our national interest and security.

In contrast, we dominate the world with hard power. Today 54 cents of that same dollar goes to the U.S. military, accounting for roughly 37 percent of all global defense spending—more than the next nine nations combined.

Our modest investment in international affairs covers some of our most effective national security programs, including helping the poorest communities in the world become more stable. Investments in education, health care, sanitation, and financial services bring security, prosperity and the dividend of peace to impoverished people in developing nations.

The work of global poverty-fighting organizations like CARE and ACDI/ VOCA and development finance institutions like OPIC will be crippled by President Trump’s lopsided budget. It is vital to our national security that our Arkansas congressional delegation keep our country’s international affairs and foreign-assistance budget intact. BETH KECK

Bentonville