Story highlights Three- and four star retired generals stress need for diplomacy, aid, development

Reducing State Department funding will make the US less safe, generals warn

Washington (CNN) A small army of retired three- and four-star generals launched a mission on Capitol Hill Tuesday: to defend the State Department against drastic budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump's budget would increase military spending by about $54 billion dollars, while cutting the State Department's budget by $11 billion, or 28.7%, in large part by slashing aid and development funds.

Reducing the investment in diplomacy, aid and development will make the US ultimately less safe, argued retired four-star Gen. George Casey, the former commanding general in Iraq from 2004 to 2007.

"It's important not to see this as just a nice thing to do," Casey told CNN during his visit to Capitol Hill. "It's an important tool of national security policy."

"I happen to be one of those people who believe we're in a long-term ideological struggle against Islamic extremism and instability is our enemy because it feeds those groups," said Casey, who also served as Army chief of staff from 2007 to 2011, overseeing operations in Afghanistan.

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