Report critical of diplomatic shortfalls

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The United States is ill equipped to handle the battle against terrorism without a drastic increase in diplomacy, according to a report released Monday.

The report, released by the Washington-based non-profit organization Academy of Diplomacy and the Stimson Center, calls for a 46 percent increase in the number of U.S. diplomats, the Academy of Diplomacy reported.

Titled "A Foreign Affairs Budget of the Future," the report additionally calls for reforming the U.S. State Department and increasing the United States' diplomatic presence around the world in order to counter threats from terrorism, nuclear proliferation and failed states, among other ongoing concerns.

According to the report, if Congress and the next president don't address concerns over the current U.S. diplomatic capabilities, American foreign policy could be crippled.

"This report will provide Congress and the next president with a blueprint for fixing the human capital crisis that has hobbled United States diplomacy worldwide, crippled its response to crises, and inappropriately thrown additional foreign policy burdens on the military in recent years," Thomas Boyatt, Academy of Diplomacy representative, said in a statement.