Editorial: Investing in diplomacy When diplomacy fails, wars happen. Most nations prefer exchanging words to bombs, which is why they give diplomacy a top budgetary priority so their motives and intentions are properly communicated to friends and foes alike. Given America's leadership role in an increasingly unstable world, Washington should be placing a top priority on elevating our diplomatic profile. But the budgetary reality suggests the opposite. The State Department's annual budget $11.46 billion for fiscal 2009 is a mere fraction of the Pentagon's $515.4 billion. Barely 1.25 percent of the federal budget goes to support America's 265 embassies and aid programs abroad. Dollar for dollar, that's a bargain. But the foreign service system is badly in need of an upgrade, says Edward Gnehm, a former The number of foreign service officers today is roughly what it was in 1960, Mr. Gnehm says. Crucial capabilities required of diplomats, including the ability to communicate in the language of the countries where they work, have atrophied. Fully 29 percent of the State Department's language-skilled positions are vacant. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have forced the department to reorder its personnel priorities, meaning that other important countries are not receiving the attention they should. This newspaper favors solutions that contribute to federal budget reduction, not growth. As the President-elect Barack Obama has repeatedly spoken of the need for smart diplomacy to avoid wars and bolster America's image abroad. Ensuring adequate funding for our foreign missions is the surest way to achieve that goal.
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