Jackson School professor Emeritus and Asia expert Donald Hellman gives his analysis to KING 5 News on what President’s Trump’s proposed budget cuts to the U.S. State Department might mean for the U.S. role in the world.
“The separation of defense and diplomacy is an artificial one,” he said, describing the multiple components of an embassy abroad.
Professor Donald Hellman speaks with KING 5 evening news anchors on March 17 about the U.S. role abroad in security and diplomacy, and nuclear non-proliferation cooperation with China and Asia.
When asked about the White House position to stop funding foreign aid “side projects” like health care and transportation in other countries, Prof. Hellman said:
“To identify specific projects, usually foreign aid as ‘giving money away’ is a misstatement of the scope of their activities. If we are to be leaders in the world, we have to take the initiative and set the agenda. It’s not just a question of writing checks. It’s a question of checks for what, and if we can decide that, it’s to our benefit and, frankly, to the world’s.”
He also comments on the recent visit by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Japan regarding nuclear capacity of North Korea.