Critics says America’s soft power could be dramatically diluted if it does not find a way to stop alienating allies around the world.
“Diplomacy is national security,” Blinken said. He pointed out that without strong US diplomacy around the world, there would not be a coalition of more than 60 countries in the fight against Isis.
The cuts, Blinken said: “have the potential to dramatically dilute our soft power, and that has done wonders for us over many years and many places”.
“In a world in which all you have is your hard power, all of a sudden every problem is a nail and the only tool you have is a hammer,” he added. “The first people who’ll tell you that’s misguided is our military.”
