Exercising Soft Power

There's a lot of talk about the value of soft power in today's world, but in the current issue of Foreign Affairs J. Anthony Holmes demonstrates that we don't have the people we need to exercise the soft power of diplomacy. We have tasked our military with many of the non-defense responsibilities.

Consider the following:

• There are more lawyers in DOD than U.S. diplomats.
• There are more people in military bands than in the diplomatic corps.
• DOD's budget is 24 times that of State and USAID combined.
• Of each dollar we spend on national security and foreign affairs, one cent goes to diplomacy and foreign aid.

Part of the problem can be assigned to Congress, which has refused to allocate the funds needed to get the diplomatic job done. But it is also true that the Bush administration has had a major role in gutting our Foreign Service.

Holmes, a former ambassador, urges Obama to spend the money that is needed to restore the diplomatic corps to a position where soft power can truly be exercised.