Nearly 90 percent of retired and active duty U.S. military officers consider development and diplomacy as necessary tools to realize U.S. national security objectives, according to a poll commissioned by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.
The same percentage agreed that a strong military force is not enough to protect the U.S., while 83 percent of poll respondents also said humanitarian efforts contribute to national security goals, USGLC shares in its blog.
“Findings from the poll also show a clear call for increased resources for the International Affairs Budget to prevent conflicts from happening and provide support to military efforts around the world,” adds USGLC, a broad-based network of 400 U.S. non-governmental organizations, businesses, experts, community leaders and faith-based groups.
The network adds that up to 1,000 U.S. veterans and volunteers have signed a petition urging Congress to pass a robust foreign affairs budget for fiscal 2011.
“This new poll shows there is clear agreement across military leadership that civilian-led development and diplomacy efforts must be front and center alongside our military assets in meeting the foreign policy challenges we face today,” said retired Adm. James Loy, co-chairman of the National Security Advisory Council, according to USGLC.
