Pell Urges Defense Cuts

America should "contract its military and diplomatic commitments overseas" while increasing economic assistance to underdeveloped nations, Senator Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) told the Harvard Law School Forum last night.

Pell said the U.S. has overextended itself militarily and "should not engage in futile attempts for military advantage over the Soviets." He called defense spending "inflationary" and said it should be "significantly reduced."

The U.S. should avoid intervening in the affairs of other nations, Pell said. Instead America should encourage an increased role for the United Nations in solving world crises.

Calling for a "new era of partnership between rich and poor nations," Pell said that the U.S. should expand humanitarian and economic aid to developing countries.

Pell, who served as a Foreign Service Officer for seven years prior to winning election to the Senate in 1960, is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and the author of Power and Policy: America's Role in World Affairs.