At Tuesday's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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00:00You're up.
00:05Welcome, Mr. Secretary.
00:07Obviously, there are two ways to prevent war and to maintain America's position in the world.
00:17Hard power, soft power.
00:20Over my years here, the people that have spoken mostly about the importance of soft power have been generals.
00:30Who know the cost of war.
00:34So, we're talking about saving money and I'm all for that.
00:39Let's take a look at what it costs to have an actual war.
00:4337% of our GDP in World War II spent on defense.
00:4813% in Korea, 9% in Vietnam.
00:53The Reagan build up about 6% of GDP.
00:59It worked.
01:01They didn't want to mess with us because they knew how strong we were going to be.
01:05And an equal partner, much less costly, is the soft power side.
01:12I think, I don't care what you call it or how you reorganize, but the basic functions that soft power provides are extremely important.
01:26You get a lot of friends for not much money.
01:29And we're being outmaneuvered, as you well know, in country after country after country by the People's Republic of China, who are effectively playing in ways that are more effective than we are.
01:49So, if you can figure out how to reorganize it and call it whatever you will, that role is extremely important.
02:04How are foreigners looking at us right now?
02:07Hmm.
02:08I think they think we're losing interest.
02:11The previous administration didn't have a single budget for defense that even kept up with inflation.
02:19And unfortunately, because of the continuing resolution this year, it looks like more of the same.
02:29So, it strikes me, no matter how well the tariffs, for example, work out, that the perception at the beginning of this administration is that we want to fight with our allies
02:46and figure out some way to make an agreement with our enemies, which brings me to Ukraine.
02:53And I think the America that I believe in and most of us believe in would find no equivalence between the Russians and Ukrainians.
03:12And so, I'm hoping as this administration moves forward, it doesn't end up not facing the actual enemies we have now, North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, Iran's proxies, by working with our allies to stand up to them.
03:35So, just to take a specific example of how soft power makes a difference, look at a country like Burma that you've had an interest in, and I have too over the years.
03:50It's a horrible place run by despicable people.
03:55Lots of storms and problems of one kind or another.
04:01The Chinese are in there just operating effectively.
04:07And we, because of not honoring contracts and some of the other things that we were doing to try to be helpful, just completely getting outmaneuvered.
04:21So, having had to endure that, I'd be interested in your observations about what you think about soft power and how important it is to this country's future.
04:32Sure.
04:33I mean, first of all, I think soft power has multiple, the Department of State ultimately is a soft power entity.
04:39I mean, it's the Department of Peace.
04:41The Department of War is a Department of Defense.
04:43Our job is to try to prevent them.
04:45And so, I do think that the model you've outlined, especially during the Cold War, was quite useful.
04:49Because during that time, that model served to keep societies from collapsing and becoming susceptible to Marxist regimes taking them over.
04:56That was the biggest fear during the Cold War, was that governments with high levels of poverty would be attracted to a Marxist revolution that would overthrow an allied government and create another satellite state for the Soviet Union.
05:09We live in a different world today.
05:10The threats look different.
05:11In some cases, fragility is still a factor, but it is largely a factor that will lead to either a costly humanitarian crisis,
05:18and in some cases, operating in safe haven spaces for radical jihadists to threaten us here at home.
05:24So, the concept remains true.
05:26How it's applied is what has changed, because I think the context, and in that context, no matter how much we, even with these reductions that are proposed before you,
05:34we would still be the single largest foreign aid donor on the planet by multiples.
05:40I mean, no one even comes close.
05:41I think Germany was second, if I recall the last time I checked.
05:44And it's not even close.
05:45That remains the case.
05:47What we have to do now is apply that soft power to the places where it matters most to our national interests,
05:52and to the programs that can make the biggest difference, the biggest impact in furthering our national interests.
05:58I think it's possible to both be a humanitarian and at the same time further the national interests.
06:03And there are cases where perhaps there isn't going to be a national interest argument.
06:06We just do it because we don't want people to die or we want to help alleviate suffering.
06:11The case of Burma is an example.
06:12It wasn't just a reduction in aid because we had teams on the ground.
06:15It was actual local authorities that prevented us from getting involved or allowing certain aid to be distributed
06:21because they were in the middle of their own conflicts internally in the midst of it.
06:27So some of these environments where we're trying to deliver aid are quite challenging.
06:30Even if we provide the money, we struggle to get it to the recipients
06:34because of some local impediment on the ground that could include, for example, in the case of Haiti,
06:39armed gangs that will hijack humanitarian shipments and steal them.
06:43Just steal them as soon as they come into the country.
06:45So it's not that we care less about Haiti, but I certainly don't think foreign aid should be going into the hands of a Haitian gang
06:51and being stolen from the people that we're intending to benefit.
06:56exactly.
06:57great question.
07:02Really?
07:04Thank you very much.
07:10Thank you, for watching a lot of views on the YouTube channel.
07:12Thank you very much.
07:13Thank you, everyone.
07:14Thank you so much.