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Trade-offs needed to enhance U.S. soft power

Lawrence J. Korb and Miriam Pemberton discuss how embracing a unified national security budget will allow the federal government to protect its investments in soft power.

Retired Gen. David Petraeus and Michael O’Hanlon are correct that we should protect funding for the State Department and the Agency for International Development (“Fund — Don’t Cut — U.S. Soft Power” POLITICO, May 1) because doing so enhances our national security. Their comments are in line with those of former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who made this point several times during his time in office.

The above excerpt was originally published in Politico. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Lawrence J. Korb

Former Senior Fellow