Ex-generals warn lawmakers about USAID cuts emboldening China: Filling that void

A trio of retired top military leaders warned congressional lawmakers this week that major cuts to US foreign aid could embolden China to step in and fill the “void” — allowing the communist state to further its global influence.The Trump administration moved quickly to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as a part of the president’s cost-cutting crusade when he retook the White House, blasting the government’s main arm for doling out foreign aid as a hotbed of waste and a haven for lefty pet projects overseas.However, former military leaders are now raising concerns as China has begun rolling out new funding initiatives in countries like Cambodia, which saw USAID funds severed.“Anytime that we the United States depart an area that we used to be in, either with USAID as a program, or other soft power initiatives, some foes, whether it’s China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, are filling that void,” retired Lt.

Gen.John Bednarek told The Post in between meetings on Capitol Hill.

“It’s an area that we need to watch and be very mindful of, from a US foreign policy perspective.”Bednarek, who served as chief of the United States Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq and former commander of the United States First Army, swung through Capitol Hill Thursday alongside retired Gen.Laura Richardson and retired Vice Admiral John Miller.The group sat on the US Global Leadership Coalition’s (USGLC) National Security Advisory Council.

USGLC advocates for a “strong” budget on foreign affairs and has been critical of the USAID reforms.It argues that when the US pulls out of foreign initiatives, it leaves a wide gap for foes to fill.For instance, over a decade ago, China began angling to make diplomatic inroads overseas with its Belt and Road Initiative, in which it provides loans and capital to an assortment of infrastructure projects in developing countries.This includes investments in Central and South America.“We’ve got a ...