The United States must "restore our diplomatic power" — and that includes rebuilding the nation's military through the agenda put forth by Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, retired Air Force Gen. John Jumper told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"We need to use all elements of our national power," the four-star general and former chief of staff told "The Hard Line" host Ed Berliner. "Diplomacy being the first line.
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"When you lose the kind of respect — and we've watched it deteriorate to the extent we've seen it deteriorate — you start off in the hole," Jumper said. "We need to get that back.
"We need to restore our diplomatic power. We need to back it with the elements of U.S. power, including the military that we've had in the past.
"That's how you start back on the path of credibility."
Bush "is the guy who understands this," Jumper told Berliner. "He's got a thoughtful and written-down policy to address our national strategic parties around the world.
"It's a global perspective. It's one that is thoughtful. It has the respect of the U.S. military.
"It doesn't necessarily require just throwing money at the defense budget," he said. "It's more thoughtful than that."
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