Zombie Treaties!

This Halloween, Undead (Treaties) Haunt the Halls of the Senate, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 29, 2010. "No, the undead aren’t Senators worried about the outcome of next Tuesday’s election. Nor are they the bodies of the departed, reanimated to feast upon the living. Citizens in the U.S. Capitol aren’t in any danger —well, no more danger than usual, anyhow—of having their brains sucked out and devoured. Rather, the undead in this case are treaties signed by Presidents past, treaties that are dead but yet still alive. Call them zombie treaties."

Yet More Unreality on Arms Trade Treaty

In Unreal Session. U.N. Promises to Press Ahead with Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 29, 2010. "The Obama Administration believes that its demand for consensus-based negotiations will protect it against such an outcome. But in the end, its demand for consensus will be used against it, as the U.S. is the state that is most likely to object to any consensus that results from the negotiations. The crunch will come when the negotiations cross a U.S. red line. Given the pace at which the U.N. and its supporters are driving the ATT along, that will happen soon enough."

An American View of Britain's Spending Cuts

"From America, the Cuts Do Not Look Too Drastic," Yorkshire Post, October 29, 2010. Not available on the Yorkshire Post site due to technical issues. "In short, every Labour government since 1945 has run afoul of the skepticism of the markets. But yet, according to the left, there is never a good time to spend less. When the economy is up, it’s time to spread the wealth by spending more on the social services. When the economy is down, cutting spending will drive the nation into a depression and inflict untold horrors upon the poor. If that’s true, then the poor really must have been suffering under Labour, because Osborne’s plan is to reduce spending to the level it was at in 2007. In anything other than the shortest of terms, that will not be enough. Like the U.S., Britain has an aging population, and its entitlement programs are massively indebted. Saving billions of pounds now will not pay for trillions of pounds worth of benefits in the coming decades."

Accounting for Defense Cost Inflation

How Much Will Defense Spending Shrink in Britain?, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 28, 2010. "Defense cost inflation is not easy to measure, let alone calculate in advance. But the fact is that the British government admits its existence, but does not appear to include it in its calculation of the declining purchasing power of the money it plans to spend on defense through 2014–15. That means that, by that date, Britain will be buying even less defense than it says it plans to. That is not a good thing for Britain, for the U.S., for NATO, or even for the cause of accurate accounting on defense spending."

UK Cuts, Should Have Cut More

The U.K. Budget Cuts: Lessons for the United States, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #3043, with Nile Gardiner and J.D. Foster, October 26, 2010. "The British cuts will be closely watched by policymakers in the United States, who are keen to address the bloated budget deficit on this side of the Atlantic. And with good reason: Public spending in the U.S. has ballooned in recent years, and America is heading for a rude awakening of Greek-style proportions unless it reverses course—and rapidly. But for several reasons, the U.K. cuts cannot simply be used as a blanket role model for the U.S. to follow."

British Defense Cuts Are Too Deep

Spending Cuts in British Defense Review: Less Than Expected, But Still Damaging, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #3039, October 22, 2010. "On October 19, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the results of Britain’s Strategic Defense and Security Review. This review, the first since 1998, has resulted in substantial reductions in Britain’s defense spending that will have dangerous long-term consequences."

The Defense Review Represents Continuity, Not Change

Hitler's Nemesis Still Carries a Big Stick, Blooomberg.com, October 21, 2010. "The British defense review, announced this week, has given critics an opportunity to misjudge the U.K. again, and many have made the most of it. But even if the cuts are carried out in full, Britain will still be a major military power. The review isn’t flawless, but it represents continuity, not change."

Osborne Needs to Focus on Growth, Not Just Cuts

A Lesson and a Warning from Britain, Foxnews.com, October 20, 2010. "Today, George Osborne, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer – the man responsible for Britain’s budget –announced the results of a high-profile spending review. He promised cuts, and he delivered. The question is whether the cuts will be deep enough, and Osborne’s other policies wise enough, to restore Britain to financial stability."

Security and Growth in the U.S. and Europe

Europe Needs Security. Europe Needs Growth. So Do We., Foreign Policy Digest, October 2010. "In one sense, the challenge facing Europe, and the United States, is the need for political leaders to present a coherent and sustained case for a stable and adequate defense budget. But both the U.S. and Europe face a more vital and more fundamental challenge."