50 military “good ole boys” support shifting money to the State Department
“50 military ‘good ole boys’ support shifting money to the State Department”
By Josh Rogin
Foreign Policy, March 23, 2010
As if the endorsement of Defense Secretary Robert Gates weren’t enough, the development community has rounded up 50 senior retired military officers to support its drive to shift money and authorities from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom.
“While our military power can provide the logistics and organizational support to help those in need in times of humanitarian crisis, as demonstrated by our current efforts in Haiti, it can only help create the conditions necessary to allow the other tools of statecraft – our diplomatic, development and humanitarian programs – to effectively address these issues,” reads a letter to Congress organized by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a network of more than 400 businesses and non-governmental organizations.
The group is trying to protect the president’s $58.5 billion fiscal 2011 budget request as it winds its way through the legislative process. That’s the biggest request ever for foreign operations and international assistance, but in this time of fiscal peril, lawmakers are expected to try to use that part of the budget request to fund other priorities.
Among the letter’s signatories is retired Gen. Michael Hagee, who was commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps from 2003 to 2006, and retired Adm. James Loy, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1998 to 2002. Hagee and Loy sat down Tuesday morning to explain their activism on behalf of the diplomatic and development community to The Cable.
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