Secretary Of Defense, Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis Eager For Full Funding Of State Department

Retired generals cite past comments from Mattis while opposing Trump’s proposed foreign aid cuts

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/02/27/retired-generals-cite-past-comments-from-mattis-while-opposing-trumps-proposed-foreign-aid-cuts/?utm_term=.e5cd39cf070b

Excerpt: "The quote from Mattis cited in the letter came in March 2013 during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee a few months before he retired from the Marine Corps. It came in response to a question from Sen. Roger Wicker (R.-Miss.), who inquired whether the U.S. international development budget was helpful to the United States, and has often been used since by advocates for “soft power.”

“Yes, sir,” Mattis said at the time. “I would start with the State Department budget. Frankly, they need to be as fully funded as Congress believes appropriate, because if you don’t fund the State Department fully then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately. So I think it’s a cost-benefit ratio. The more we put into the State Department’s diplomacy, hopefully the less we have to put into a military budget as we deal with the outcome of apparent American withdrawal from the international scene.”