The Voting System's Not the Problem

Are We Voting for a Better Democracy or Simply Ignoring the Real Problems?, Yorkshire Post, May 29, 2011. "The fault in Britain lies not in the system. It lies in the people who vote in it. The majority of the British people want more benefits than they are willing to pay for, so the state has run out of money. No one wants to be blown up by terrorists, but, for too many of the elite, Islamism is a natural response to the supposed prejudices of British society. Everyone pretends to want the virtues that stable family life brings, but the elite’s left-wing condemns anyone who defends family values as an intolerant bigot."

The Convention on Cluster Munitions

The United States Should Not Join the Convention on Cluster Munitions, with Steve Groves, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2550, April 28, 2011. "The Convention on Cluster Munitions is a misbegotten treaty that neither advances the laws of war nor enhances security. It is an unverifiable, unenforceable, all-or-nothing exercise in moral suasion, not a serious diplomatic instrument. It creates perverse incentives for insurgents to use civilian populations as human shields, undermines effective arms control efforts, inhibits nation-states’ ability to defend themselves, and denigrates the sovereignty of the United States and other democratic states. The U.S. should emphatically reject both the convention and the undemocratic Oslo Process that produced it and should instead continue to negotiate a realistic and enforceable protocol on cluster munitions that balances U.S. military requirements with the humanitarian concerns posed by unexploded ordnance."

So, About Those Harriers

You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone, Contentions, April 15, 2011. "William Hague, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, now says that “It would be useful to have a larger number of aircraft capable of striking ground targets.” Mr. Hague is right. What Britain needs now is an aircraft capable of taking off from an aircraft carrier conveniently parked off the coast of Libya, able to land on rough or improved airstrips, and able to engage both air and ground targets. Such an aircraft would allow Britain to respond more quickly to targets as they are identified, maintain a continual presence in the air and thus keep the heads of Gaddafi’s thugs down, and spend less time and aviation fuel flying its small force of Tornado GR4s back and forth across the Mediterranean. . . . But of course, Britain grounded its Harrier force as a result of its last defense review, conducted by Mr. Hague’s government."

Kosovo Redux

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Kosovo, Contentions, April 15, 2011. "Does the Libyan affair remind anyone of Kosovo? It’s taking place on Europe’s borders, yet—as always when Europe’s hour strikes—no one from the EU is home. NATO has taken over, but most of its members are unenthusiastic. British leadership is a constant, while France has replaced Germany—even more riven by pacifism today than it was in the 1990s—as Britain’s comrade in arms. The U.S., militarily essential as always, gives the appearance of indecision when compared to Britain, although the sentiments of the British people are less clear."

The Case of the Missing Harriers

Libya Mission Demonstrates That British Defense Cuts Must Be Reversed, with Nile Gardiner, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #3231, April 19, 2011. "The prime minister cannot effectively wage a major military campaign in Libya without reversing the crippling defense cuts his Coalition government has introduced, as well as significantly increasing defense spending. The government should reconsider the review and reject its flawed foundations. The British armed forces should be funded at a level sufficient to allow them to successfully accomplish the missions given to them by the country’s political leaders."

The Long-Term Defense Problem

Britain’s Decline: Entitlements and the Armed Forces, BigPeace, April 13, 2011. "Byron York has a fine piece in the Examiner pointing out that, while Britain has taken a leading role in the Libyan intervention, there is almost nothing left militarily behind the curtain. The entire British stockpile of cruise missiles amounted to 64 when the war began, and Britain was careless enough to fire off 12 of them at the start of the conflict. That’s 20 percent of Britain’s entire arsenal, shot off in a single volley."

I Am Rubber, You Are Glue

What Bounces Off Me Sticks To You, Contentions, April 13, 2011. "To date, the Obama Administration’s strategy on internet freedom has been to talk a lot, but do absolutely nothing that would alienate China. Thanks to Senator Lugar, who led the charge on this issue, the Administration has been forced to step away just slightly from their strategy. The Chinese have told us very clearly what they are afraid of, and where they think they are vulnerable. We would be foolish not to take advantage of this."

Barack O'Cameron

Meet Barack O'Cameron, Contentions, April 11, 2011. "David Cameron has taken a leaf from the Book of Obama and launched a worldwide apology tour. On his recent visit to Pakistan, he rightly declined to get involved in Kashmir but for the wrong reasons. He said he does not 'want to try to insert Britain in some leading role where, as with so many of the world’s problems, we are responsible for the issue in the first place.' Figuring out where Cameron stands on international affairs is a full-time job."

Defending the U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty

Tensions Ahead Over U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 11, 2011. "It’s a common-sense idea that criminals should not be able to escape justice in one country simply by fleeing to another. In this Internet age, it’s also common sense that citizens of one country should not be able commit crimes electronically in another without fear of punishment. This is the problem that extradition is intended to solve."