washington 120 retire u.s. general admirals urge congress monday fully fund u.s. diplomacy foreign aid government function expect target cut president donald trump first budget proposal white house budget official say monday trump would seek boost military spend 54 billion cut amount non-defense spend include large reduction foreign aid letter address republican house speaker paul ryan democratic house minority leader nancy pelosi republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell democratic senate minority leader chuck schumer retire officer write elevate strengthen diplomacy development alongside defense critical keep america safe click copy letter bit.ly/2mwif0g know service uniform many crises nation face military solutions alone write state department usaid millennium challenge corporation peace corps development agencies critical prevent conflict reduce need put men women uniform harm way letter sign prominent u.s. military officer serve recent decades include retire general george casey former chief staff u.s. army retire general david petraeus former cia director commander troop iraq afghanistan retire marine general anthony zinni former commander u.s. central command retire u.s. navy admiral jam stavridis former supreme ally commander nato retire general keith alexander former director national security agency letter organize u.s. global leadership coalition advocate robust u.s. spend diplomacy foreign aid publish letter online monday u.s. military spend stand roughly 600 billion annually contrast unite state spend 54 billion per year international affairs budget include state department foreign assistance program retire u.s. military officer urge congress fully fund diplomacy aid