Cost Imposition, Iran, and Syria

U.S. Syria Policy Has No Staying Power, Newsday, December 20, 2013. "Sooner or later, this war will end. So the United States must decide who it wants to win. And the victor must not be the Assad regime. The dangers of an Islamist takeover are undeniable. But Assad also has Islamist allies based in Tehran. And unlike the Syrian rebels, Tehran's radicals have a nuclear weapons program."

The Case of Zurab Adeishvili

Zurab Adeishvili and the Trouble with Interpol, Contentions, December 16, 2013. "Interpol is in many ways a strange organization. Strange, because most of what people know about it is wrong. For example, it’s not an international police force; it’s more like an international police bulletin board. Strange because, unlike too many international organizations, it exists more for what it does than what it says. And strange because, though like the U.N. it’s numerically dominated by the autocracies, it has escaped being organizationally dominated by them: the secretary general of Interpol has always been French, British, or–as today–American."

Interpol and the Risks of Irresponsibility

Don’t Look to Hollywood for the Truth About Interpol, Heritage Foundation Foundry, December 16, 2013. "This week on the big screen, martial arts master Jason Statham tangles with James Franco in Homefront. Statham’s on-screen backstory? He’s a British Interpol agent who retires to rural Louisiana, where he runs afoul of Franco and his gang. As a story, it’s not bad. But as a depiction of Interpol, it’s laughable."

Ten Years After Saddam's Fall

Lesson of Saddam’s Fall is that War Can Be Best Way to Justice, Yorkshire Post, December 13, 2013. "It was only a decade ago that US forces pulled Saddam Hussein out of his spiderhole at a farmhouse in ad-Dawr, near his home town of Tikrit. That success – indeed, that war – seems now to belong to another century. But it’s not so far removed from today’s travails."

Interpol's Strengths and Abuses

Necessary Reforms Can Keep Interpol Working in the U.S. Interest, with David Kopel, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2861, December 11, 2013. " The U.S. should act to protect U.S. citizens and individuals with a U.S. nexus who are unjustly targeted by an Interpol notice or diffusion and should seek to reform Interpol’s diffusion system."

What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Interpol

Hollywood, ‘Homefront,’ and the Very Real Problems Facing Interpol, Foxnews.com, December 9, 2013. "Because of its autocratic members, Interpol is drifting into trouble. And while Jason Statham can punch his way out of his difficulties, the same isn’t true of Interpol’s victims, who are trapped in a legal nightmare. Hollywood doesn’t have a clue about the real Interpol. And thanks to it, neither do most Americans. The U.S. should strongly support the things that Interpol does well. But it should also take steps to ensure that Interpol does not allow rogues like Iran and Russia to abuse it for their own evil purposes."

What Bad Deals Have In Common

President Obama Flunks ‘Make A Deal 101’, Newsday, December 6, 2013. "The administration has made four big international deals since 2009: the New START Treaty with Russia, the UN Arms Trade Treaty, the Syrian chemical weapons arrangement and, now, the enrichment deal with Iran. They share a disturbing set of characteristics."

Reasons for Caution on TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): Pitfalls and Promises, with Rea S. Hederman Jr., Bryan Riley and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4100, December 5, 2013. "The promotion of economic freedom is a vital part of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. A TTIP that genuinely reduced trade barriers would contribute significantly to this aim. But, though negotiations are still at an early stage, there are reasons to be concerned that TTIP will not free trade but instead build a transatlantic managed market. This would reduce or even eliminate U.S. gains from TTIP and would not promote economic freedom. The U.S. should continue negotiating but be cautious and assess any agreement on its merits."

The Need For A Positive No to the EU

UK Needs Freedom to Pick Talent from the Whole World, Yorkshire Post, November 23, 2013. "The EU’s problems are real, and underneath, they will drive voting in the referendum. But the Out campaign needs not just the Thatcherite spirit of rebellion: it needs her optimism. Even in terms of immigration, the EU means favouring talent from Europe, a tiny part of the world, at the expense of talent from the rest of it. And that makes less sense today for Britain than it ever did in the past."

A Question of National Honor

When We Leave, Friends Suffer First, Newsday, November 22, 2013. "My bottom line on U.S. foreign policy is to keep faith with our friends. Once we make a promise, we uphold it. Now, if a friend breaks faith with us, the deal is off. We're called upon to be true to our word, not to be suckers."

On the Curious Contradictions Between Obama's Foreign and Domestic Policies

Barack Obama Doubles Down Abroad, Newsday, November 8, 2013. "Obama's policy of backing down abroad and doubling down at home is out of sync with the American system. Under the Constitution, the president is supposed to be energetic abroad, but restrained at home. This president has been the reverse. His approach has served the nation poorly, and in any deal with Iran, it will prove disastrous."

Winston's Back!

Bust of Winston Churchill Dedicated in U.S. Capitol, Heritage Foundation Foundry, November 1, 2013. "Congress dedicated a bust of Winston Churchill, one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century and an honorary American citizen, in a ceremony this week in the magnificent Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. The event was a powerful tribute to Churchill’s leadership and to his great legacy in the United States and around the world."

As Cameron Goes, So Goes (Maybe) the GOP

Britain’s Lesson for U.S. Conservatives, Newsday, October 25, 2013. "Britain is led by a coalition of two parties: the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. That may well change in 2015, after the next election. Conservatives’ difficulties in Britain offer lessons for their U.S. counterparts."

The ATT's Race to 50 -- In The Senate

Good News From Washington – UN Arms Trade Treaty DOA in US Senate, Foxnews.com, October 18, 2013. "Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) released a bipartisan letter this week signed by 48 of their colleagues pledging to oppose the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which Secretary of State John Kerry signed on behalf of the United States in September. This letter makes it clear that the Senate will not ratify the treaty in the foreseeable future."

The Considered Congressional Response to US ATT Signature

Senate Decisively Rejects U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 15, 2013. "The U.S. Senate responded decisively today to Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent signature of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). In a bipartisan letter led by Senators Jerry Moran (R–KS) and Joe Manchin (D–WV), half of the Senate has officially pledged to oppose the ratification of the ATT. The signatories include every Republican Senator except Mark Kirk (R–IL) and 5 Democratic Senators. The letter, with its 50 signatories, ends any hope in the foreseeable future of Senate ratification of the ATT."

The Separation of Powers Works

The Real Insanity Inside the Beltway, Newsday October 11, 2013. "The American government was not created to do lots of things, except for in a few areas such like as the national defense. It was intended to be a limited government. It certainly wasn’t created to run a national health care system, especially one of unprecedented cost and complexity."

The Commonwealth Is Not "The" Alternative to the EU

Flexible Relations Will Help Britain Achieve a More Prosperous Future, Yorkshire Post, October 7, 2013. "Britain doesn’t need to be part of any one dominant bloc. What Britain needs above all is the national flexibility and determination to make good policies on its own, and that’s exactly what the EU denies it. Looking around for a new home is a much less useful activity than checking out of the European emergency ward."

The EU As Carcass

Under Obama, the U.S. Clings to the Carcass of the European Union, Forward!, Autumn 2013. "The EU today is a carcass, the shred of an old policy that once had a solid basis, but is now merely a rag. It is time for Britain to cut loose, and for the United States to recognize that a sovereign Britain, able to trade freely around the world and unshackled by the ever more supranational EU, would be a better friend and a better ally than a Britain slowly and reluctantly submerged in a deeply undemocratic EU will ever be. It must be the conservative mission in both Britain and the United States to make that recognition a policy reality on both sides of the Atlantic."

Syrian War Won't End There

Jihad is the War that Won’t End, Newsday, September 27, 2013. "When that conflict ends, the forces opposing Assad will move elsewhere, including to Europe. We may not want to intervene in Syria, but Syria is likely to intervene in us."

The Initial Congressional Response to US ATT Signature

As Kerry Signs “Less than Useless” U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Congress Responds, Heritage Foundation Foundry, September 25, 2013. "Today, Secretary of State John Kerry signed the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on behalf of the United States. The reaction from Congress has been immediate, and rightfully so."

Options Remain for ATT Opposition

U.N. Arms Treaty Will Be Menace to U.S. For Years to Come, FoxNews.com, September 25, 2013. "Secretary of State John Kerry’s signature of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty today was a serious error, one that will have far-reaching consequences for American foreign policy and American sovereignty. Those consequences will be even worse because the Senate, which has signaled many times that it is opposed to the treaty, will likely have no real opportunity to reject it."

Leading From Behind

After Syrian Confusion, the Obama Doctrine Lies in Ruins, Heritage Foundation Foundry, September 21, 2013. "The President has never had a coherent approach to foreign policy. Instead, he entered office with a string of liberal platitudes about the world and a deep desire to focus on domestic policy. Today, the Administration’s central goal on Syria is the same as it was two years ago: to get the problem off the front pages."

No Staying Power

Dictators and Despots Call Obama’s Bluff Over His War of Empty Words, Yorkshire Post, September 16, 2013. "The Russian role in the Syrian crisis is thus not the really dangerous part of the affair. The true danger lies in the fact that, once again, President Obama has shown that he has no staying power at all. He quit in Iraq, because that was supposedly the wrong war. Afghanistan was, he said, the right one. Well, we are quitting there too."

The Coming Slaughters

What About All the Other Massacres?, Newsday, September 15, 2013. "The Taliban will return, and they will take vengeance. Today, you can easily find savage videos of Taliban atrocities online. When they are back in power, they will be worse. And when they execute people for the crime of being friendly to the United States, we should remember that — as across the Middle East — we had the power to make a difference. We just chose not to use it."

Norms for Me, But Not for Thee

The Connections Between Syria and the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, September 11, 2013. "Whether or not it is wise to arm rebels in Syria today, it is clearly not sensible for the U.S. to decide in advance that it will never arm a rebel group again. That would mean a rejection of the Reagan Doctrine that the U.S. will seek, guided by its national interests, to arm opponents of dictatorial regimes."

Neither the Will Nor the Way

Where the Syria Vote and Obama’s EU Advocacy Meet, Centre for Policy Studies, September 10, 2013. "As that Blairite wave has receded, the British left has moved back closer in line to the tendencies of Europe. The U.S. pressure on Britain to stay in the E.U. is only going to give ideological and practical encouragement to those tendencies, and make it even harder for the government of the day to win the vote on the next crisis – when the case for action in alliance with the U.S. may be much better than it is in Syria today. And if Britain lacks both the way and the will to act, the Special Relationship will indeed be much diminished."

The End of a Mission

Tony Blair’s Vision for the Middle East and Britain’s Role in It Has Collapsed, Sunday Express (UK), September 1, 2013. "While Britain may not want to contribute to it, there’s fighting aplenty in the Middle East. In the midst of it stands Tony Blair, honored with the title of Representative of the Quartet on the Middle East, charged with bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. That mission has been a failure."

Which Way Does the Wind Blow Today?

Barack Obama’s A Finger-In-The-Wind Policy on Syria, Newsday, August 31, 2013. "As Karl Marx observed, when history repeats itself, it’s tragedy the first time and farce the second. If the Iraq War was the tragedy, then Syria is certainly the farce. The White House is still agonizing about whether it will launch missile strikes on Syria. As its nightmare of consideration continues, it should remember something: If you want to use military force, you are practically and morally obligated to think about what you are trying to achieve with it."

As U.S. Prepares to Sign ATT, Events Elsewhere Move On

The Impending U.S. Signature of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, August 28, 2013. "The ATT was negotiated in English, and initial translations of it into the U.N.’s other official languages were flawed. Revised translations have since been circulated, and unless objections to the new language have been received, the final translation – into Russian – was formally completed yesterday, August 28. Thus, by the standard Secretary Kerry has set, the U.S. may now be free to sign the ATT."

The Top Ten, But Not the Only, Reasons Not to Sign the ATT

Top 10 Reasons Why the U.S. Should Not Sign the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4028, August 27, 2013. "Once the U.S. signs the treaty, and even without the advice and consent of the Senate, the U.S. will consider itself obliged not to violate the treaty’s object and purpose. The top 10 reasons why the U.S. should avoid putting itself in this dangerous position by not signing the ATT are . . . ."

The U.S., Sadder But Wiser, Maybe

Optimistic America Deludes Itself About Democracy, Newsday, August 16, 2013. "American enthusiasm for foreign upheaval is as old as Thomas Jefferson's naive admiration of the French Revolution. But that led to the Reign of Terror, and then the Napoleonic Wars. We will be lucky if the Middle Eastern war spawned by the Arab Spring does not spread beyond Syria."

First the Falklands, Now Gibraltar

U.S. Should Condemn Spain’s Bullying Tactics Over Gibraltar, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4007, August 6, 2013. "Spain’s recent antagonistic behavior toward Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on the Iberian Peninsula, for recently constructing an artificial reef inside the limits of its territorial waters is unbecoming of a NATO ally in 21st-century Europe."

Three, Two, One . . .

Saudi Arabian Missile Base Is A Sign of Waning U.S. Influence, Newsday, August 2, 2013. "The U.S. retreat from Iraq and its handoff policy on Syria and Iran are creating a security vacuum that regional powers are already filling. Last month IHS Jane's, Britain's famed defense and intelligence firm, announced that it had spotted a missile base in the heart of Saudi Arabia. Designed to launch Chinese-made DF-3 missiles, the base targets both Iran and Israel."

This Isn't the Africa Policy You're Looking For

Obama Travels in Style But Fails to Reach the Right Conclusions, Yorkshire Post, July 26, 2013. "Barack Obama is one of the best-travelled Presidents in US history. During his first term in office, he visited 35 countries, and he’s made another 12 trips since his re-election. But quantity does not imply quality. Indeed, given the results of his travel, he’d be better off staying home."

Nice Work, If You Can Buy it

How To Become a U.S. Ambassador, Newsday, July 19, 2013. "Last week, President Barack Obama appointed a new ambassador to the Court of St. James's (most of us call it Britain). It's our most prestigious diplomatic post. It also had a "for rent" sign on it: the new ambassador, Matthew Barzun, was the chief fundraiser for Obama's re-election campaign."

Analyzing A Leaked NGO EMail on the UN ATT

How Liberal Anti-Gun Activists View the American Constitution, Foxnews.com, July 8, 2013. "Last month, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted an amendment to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act to prohibit funding for the implementation of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) for one year. The Obama administration says it will sign the ATT soon. The House amendment was vigorously opposed by a group of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) led by Oxfam America, and including Amnesty International, the Arms Control Association, and the National Association of Evangelicals."

U.S. Promotes Corporate Crony Capitalism in Africa

This Isn’t the Africa Policy Americans Need, Newsday, July 5, 2013. "Every presidential trip abroad is designed to produce signature moments and deliverable achievements. President Barack Obama's recent visit to Africa was no exception. His deliverables will do little to help Africa -- but they will fatten big business at home."

Churchill's Understanding of the Glorious Fourth

Churchill on the “Practical Truth” of the Declaration of Independence, Heritage Foundation Foundry, July 4, 2013. "As a statesman, an author, and a friend of the United States, Winston Churchill was regularly called upon to offer his sentiments on the meaning of the Fourth of July. In his remarks over the years, as Lewis E. Lehrman points out, he emphasized a similar theme: Though the Declaration of Independence signaled the American political break from Britain, it was inspired by a shared Anglo–American political tradition of resistance to tyranny."

Another Extradition Play to the Gallery

Assessing the New Legislation on Extradition, with Andrew Southam, The Commentator, July 2, 2013. "Campaigners have long argued that Britain should have a “forum bar” that would limit the extradition of individuals from Britain to other jurisdictions. In April, they got their wish. The Crime and Courts Act introducing the forum bar, with other measures, received Royal Assent on 25th April 2013. The issue now is whether these measures improve the effectiveness of Britain’s extradition arrangements, including those with the United States, or whether they are a misguided attempt to play to the public gallery."

Yes, the ATT Does Indeed Impinge on the Reagan Doctrine

Syria: Would the U.N. ATT Ban Aid to the Rebels?, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 27, 2013. "There are indeed good reasons to be skeptical about arming the rebels in Syria. But by arguing the broader case that the ATT bans aid to non-state actors, the treaty proponents are rejecting a bipartisan tool of U.S. foreign policy, one that we may not want to use now but should not abandon. They are validating the concerns of treaty opponents, who have long argued that the ATT was a device to transform U.S. arms export policy. They are also effectively putting themselves on the side of the well-armed totalitarian regimes that kill unarmed people. And there is a final irony. The ATT is being promoted by an Administration that is seemingly intent, in Syria, on seeing the treaty their way. Other governments are likely to do the same, which implies that the ATT – to the extent that it does not over time constrain the U.S., as its advocates argue it should and will – is likely to achieve nothing at all."

Against All Enemies, Mostly Domestic

Obama Sets His Sights on the Enemies Within, Yorkshire Post, June 26, 2013. "We want safety, and not just from terrorists, which is reasonable. We want it everywhere. The vast bureaucracies of the modern world, whether they are intelligence agencies or benefit payers, are all about trying to prevent unpleasantness. It is a strange kind of mind that finds this troubling when it comes to our security, but still welcomes the advance of the state everywhere else."

Obama's Irrelevant Rhetoric in Berlin

Barack Obama Still Sees World Through a Cold War Lens, Newsday, June 21, 2013. "The fact that the United States has nuclear weapons has nothing to do with the scarcity of peace and justice in the world. Our nuclear weapons did not cause the war in Syria. They do not make al-Qaida hate us. They have no connection with the lack of justice in Iran. The president’s words have no contact with reality."

When It Comes to Treaties, I Don't Believe in Magic

The Magical Thinking Behind the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 14, 2013. "The problem with the world’s arms trade is not, as treaty defenders like Oxfam America President Raymond Offenheiser like to claim, that there are “loopholes in the current, irresponsible global arms trade.” The problem is that some nations deliberately sell arms to terrorists and dictators, and many others are corrupt. If a nation cannot maintain democratic law and order, it will not be able to implement the ATT. A treaty cannot make the incompetent competent. Nor can it make the malicious responsible."

What Apple and Budweiser Have In Common

Of Bacon and Apple and Taxes and Beer, Newsday, June 7, 2013. "Last week Shuanghui International, China's largest pork producer, announced a surprise agreement to buy Smithfield, the largest such U.S. firm, for $7.4 billion, including debt. We can expect more deals like this in the future. The reasons tell us a lot about what is right, and what is wrong, with the U.S. as an economic power."

The Latest on the Arms Trade Treaty from the Hill

As U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Opens for Signature, Opposition Rises on Hill, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 3, 2013. "The ATT is badly flawed in substance, and the way it was adopted in the U.N. General Assembly and the speed of the U.S. review process of the treaty poses further serious problems. In part for those reasons, the treaty has drawn considerable skepticism on the Hill. A Concurrent Resolution offered by Senator Jerry Moran (R–KS) and Representative Mike Kelly (R–PA) has 35 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and 144 in the House. Kelly has also released a Dear Colleagues letter opposing the ATT, with 129 co-signatories. Finally, Kelly has the support of 50 of his colleagues for an amendment to the fiscal year 2014 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill that would ban funding for the ATT."

The Process of Implementing the ATT Poses New Risks

New Risks, Dangers Loom as UN Arms Trade Treaty Opens for Signature, Foxnews.com, June 3, 2013. "The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) opens for signature on June 3. Well over 30 nations will sign it immediately, and the U.S. has announced it will follow suit. Once 50 signatories ratify the treaty, implementation begins 90 days later. And implementation will present new risks to the U.S. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Countryman insists implementation will bring “no change in legislation, policy, or procedures.” That promise will be nearly impossible to keep, since key terms in the treaty have no fixed meaning. As they evolve, the U.S. will change its policies accordingly. But the ATT was never designed to stand on its own. It will be fleshed out in innumerable ways. That process that will end up determining what the treaty actually means."

The Rise of the Part-Time Job

“U.S. Must Learn Jobs Lesson from the Plight of Part-Time Europe,” not available online, Yorkshire Post, May 25, 2013. "Part-time jobs aren’t all bad. But Europe’s reliance on them rests on its failure to be flexible enough to create full-time jobs. One of the secrets of the U.S.’s success has been its extraordinarily flexible economy. Obamacare was inspired by Europe’s example. It’s no surprise that it mirrors Europe’s destructive pattern of inflexibly pricing full-time work out of existence."

In the Middle East, Focus on Iran, Not the Syrian Rebels

"Focus on Iran," Newsday, May 24, 2013, not available online. "On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 for a bill that would provide U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels. An Assad victory in that war would indeed be its worst possible outcome. But the conditions the bill attaches to U.S. aid show how tough it will be to help the right rebels. Rather than focus on the rebels, we should focus on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s friends in Iran. If we had been tougher on Tehran since 2009, we might not be worrying about Assad now."

On ATT Review, Start Over

U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: U.S. Decision to Sign Treaty Shows Review Process Was Rushed, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3944, May 20, 2013. "On May 15, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman stated that the U.S. would sign the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) “in the very near future.” The treaty opens for signature at the United Nations on June 3. The fact that this decision was announced only six weeks after the treaty was negotiated shows that the U.S. rushed its internal review process. Before it actually signs the ATT, the U.S. should retract this statement and conduct a full and careful legal and policy review of the treaty."

What Obama Should Do To Restore the Special Relationship

In Meeting with Cameron, Obama Should Advance the U.S.-U.K. Special Relationship, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3933, May 10, 2013. "President Barack Obama will host British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House on May 13. Publicly, it has been announced that the visit will be dominated by events in Syria, economic cooperation, countering terrorism, and priorities for the next meeting of the G-8. Privately, David Cameron is likely to raise a number of sensitive issues, such as the U.S. position on the Falkland Islands and the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU). This visit offers an opportunity for President Obama to get the Special Relationship back on track."

From Internet Tax to VAT

Senate Takes A Step Toward the VAT, Newsday, May 10, 2013. "If the Senate has its way, online sales taxes are coming to a computer near you. The so-called Marketplace Fairness Act sailed through the Senate on Monday by a 69-27 margin. If approved in the House, the act won’t just cost you money. It will also put the United States on the road to adopting a European-style national sales tax."

Another Reason for Britain to Leave the ECHR

European Court Errs in Decision on Terrorist Suspect Extradition, with Andrew Robert James Southam, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3930, May 7, 2013. "The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has given an interim ruling that Britain cannot extradite Haroon Aswat to the United States. Aswat has been indicted in the U.S. on conspiracy charges related to the establishment of a terrorist training camp for radical Islamists in Bly, Oregon in 1999. By this decision, the ECHR, unless its decision is overturned, will have done significant damage to the Anglo-American extradition system, and to the ability of both sovereign nations to try and punish serious offenses, including terrorism."

Bet He Wishes He Hadn't Said That

Obama’s ‘Red Line’ Comes Back to Trip Him, Newsday, April 26, 2013. "Last August, President Barack Obama called the use of chemical weapons a “red line.” He now faces a hard choice: Admit his red line was phony or intervene in a conflict he has sought to avoid."

Vladimir Putin's Crocodile Tears for Boston

After Boston, Regard Vladimir Putin’s Sympathy With Distrust, Newsday, April 24, 2013. "Russian strongman Vladimir Putin expressed his sympathy for the victims of the Boston bombings last week. But make no mistake: Putin sees the bombings as an opportunity to rebuild relations with the United States on his terms."

Samatha Powers and the Hypocrisy of the Atrocities Prevention Board

Atrocities Prevention Board, One Year Later, Contentions, April 23, 2013. "It’s about as likely that the U.S. will develop the ability to predict atrocities before they happen as it is that we’ll develop the ability to predict events like the Arab Spring before they happen. It’s all too easy to make a list of places where bad things are more likely to happen: any place where government is either really strong or really weak is a contender to head the list. Nor is there any secret about where the world’s atrocities are happening today: Syria, North Korea, Iran, the DRC, and Sudan, among others. The usual suspects. The problem is not that we lack the administrative tools to recognize this. It’s not even that this administration has in practice been more interested in cozying up to Russia, downplaying radical Islamism, and kicking the can down the road in Syria and Iran, though all of that will feature heavily in the work of a future Samantha Power. It’s that these are, in Power’s own words, problems from hell, and you don’t address problems from hell with a nice, well-mannered, invisible inter-agency board."

Margaret Thatcher, Stakhanovite

Margaret Thatcher’s Lesson: To Triumph, Do Your Homework, Newsday, April 16, 2013. "Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s greatest prime minister since Winston Churchill, will be laid to rest today. In life, Thatcher never rested. American politicians, who have fallen into a bad habit of legislating for the camera, need to learn her habit of sweating the details instead."

On Lady Thatcher's Funeral

Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral: America Says Goodbye to a Friend, with Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 17, 2013. "Margaret Thatcher will be missed. But as the world says good-bye to the Iron Lady, we can take comfort in knowing that her legacy will outlive us all."

On Thatcherism and Development

The Problem with Socialism Is that Sooner or Later You Run Out of Other People’s Money, Guardian, April 16, 2013. "Thatcher's achievement was to challenge this increasingly stagnant status quo by making decisions about what to prioritise, thus rejecting the belief in the state as the enabler of all good things. Predictably, it earned her the hatred of the left."

Why Americans Liked Lady Thatcher

"Thatcher’s Radical Spirit Bridged the Atlantic to Drive a Revival of the West," Yorkshire Post, April 11, 2013. Not available online. "There’s no great mystery about why Americans liked Margaret Thatcher. They liked her because she liked them, and she said so, publicly and repeatedly. She was perfectly willing to be critical about the United States, when she thought it was appropriate, but it was always clear that she spoke as a friend."

On Lady Thatcher's Convictions

A Leader with Conviction, National Review Online, April 8, 2013. "Margaret Thatcher was not a woman who liked to look back. She never enjoyed watching her appearances on television, and when her office praised her after a victory, she replied by asking what they were going to do next. Only a leader with that kind of commitment could have rescued Britain from the slump in which it was mired in the 1970s."

The ATT: Bad Treaty, Worse Precedent

Arms Trade Treaty: Problems with Substance and Process, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3892, April 4, 2013. "The concept of the ATT is inherently flawed, and the treaty as adopted contains significant defects. Because of these flaws, the U.S. should neither sign nor ratify the ATT. But the process by which it was adopted is even more damaging. The U.S. should in the future uphold consensus as a negotiating red line, stop supporting the transfer of failed consensus-based negotiations to the majority-rule GA, and recognize that the GA vote on the ATT is only the beginning of the process of treaty interpretation and amendment."

For the ATT, A Bad Treaty, A Bad Process

U.N. General Assembly Adopts the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 2, 2013. "This morning, by a vote of 154 nations in favor (including the United States), 23 abstentions, and three against (Syria, North Korea, and Iran), the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The treaty will be open for national signature on June 3, 2013, and will enter into force for its signatories when it has been signed and ratified by 50 nations."

At the ATT, A Classic Illustration of How to Blame the U.S.

The Arms Trade Treaty: The Big Lie About July 2012, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 1, 2013. "One of the unreported stories about the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the United Nations is the effort by many U.N. members, supplemented by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to blame the failure of the first negotiating conference last July on the United States. This story demonstrates the widespread eagerness to blame the U.S. for anything, which in turn sheds light on how the ATT, once it comes into being, will be interpreted and implemented in practice."

At the ATT Conference, the Worst of All Possible Worlds

The End of the Arms Trade Treaty Conference Is Not the End of the Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 1, 2013. "Late on Thursday, the U.N. conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) fell apart when Iran, North Korea, and Syria opposed the treaty. This was a surprise to virtually all the conference observers. By mid-day Friday, almost everyone thought the treaty would get done that day, if only because the delegates were too tired of the process to do anything else. Sure, there were rumors of trouble with Iran and North Korea, but when Iran’s PressTV reported that Tehran was on board with the treaty, it was hard to take the rumors seriously. The first lesson is that as long as Iran’s regime is talking, they’re lying."

The Aftermath of the Final ATT Negotiating Conference

At the UN Arms Trade Treaty Talks, The Dictators Rule the Day, Foxnews.com, April 1, 2013. "The new Axis of Evil did object. But they weren't the only ones. I should know: I was in the room for the entire seven-hour session. The conference rules stated that only a single nation had to speak up to stop the treaty, so when Iran objected, it was game over. Syria and North Korea were merely piling on. But after the conference failed, we saw that it wasn't just those three nations that opposed the treaty."

Serious Problems in ATT Final Draft

The Arms Trade Treaty: Reactions to the Final Draft, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 28, 2013. "This latest draft contains a substantial number of minor changes to the previous text. In reacting to this text, it is important to bear in mind that the treaty has underlying flaws that no amount of improved drafting can fix. The latest draft has also not remedied a substantial number of the problems in previous drafts. But the following deficiencies in the text are both new and particularly regrettable."

Against the ATT, Again

Treaty Binds the Hands of the Good as Evil Thrives, Yorkshire Post, March 28, 2013. "For the past two weeks I’ve been in New York, sitting in the back of a United Nations conference room as the world’s nations negotiate the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Before I starting watching these negotiations, I was sure I could not have any less respect for the UN. But actually, I had a lot of respect left to lose."

The ATT Demands of the Dictators and the Holier-Than-Thous

The Arms Trade Treaty, Week Two: The Ways It Might Fail, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 27, 2013. "In New York, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference is entering its final phase, and the ways in which the negotiations might fail are becoming clearer. large number of nations—mainly the Middle East but also Bangladesh, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and others—are not going to get much of what they want from this treaty. That is a good thing."

Should the ATT Contain A CIL Criterion?

U.N. Arms Trade Treaty and the Customary International Law Standard, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3886, March 27, 2013. "One of the most important disputes in the negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) at the United Nations is the question of whether the treaty should include a customary international law (CIL) criterion. This is a complex question. It is also one fraught with considerable risks for the United States, which should firmly oppose the introduction of such a criterion into the treaty."

Sen. Moran's ATT Resolution Gains 34th Senate Co-Sponsor

The Arms Trade Treaty, Week Two: As the U.N. Talks, the Senate Acts, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 26, 2013. "The most important developments over the past few days have happened in Washington, not New York. On Monday, the concurrent resolution introduced two weeks ago by Senator Jerry Moran (R–KS) and Representative Mike Kelly (R–PA) won its 34th Senate cosponsor, Senator Max Baucus (D–MT). This means that more than a third of the Senate is now committed to urging President Obama not to sign the ATT, opposing its ratification by the Senate, and rejecting any funding for or legal recognition of the ATT unless and until it passes fully through the ratification process."

The Unacceptable Knowledge Standard In The ATT

The Arms Trade Treaty, Week 2: The Treaty Is Getting Worse, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 25, 2013. "The most important change in the draft treaty is a major defeat for the U.S. As I foreshadowed in my report on Thursday, the draft now relies on a “knowledge” standard—i.e., before the U.S. sells conventional arms, it is supposed to assess whether it has “knowledge” that they will be used to commit human rights violations. This standard would be used to criticize U.S. sales retrospectively and would be the basis of investigations by the U.N. on the argument that, even if the U.S. did not in fact know about impending violations, it should have known. This standard is completely unacceptable and by itself demands a U.S. rejection of the treaty."

At the ATT, The Charge of the Dictatorships

The Arms Trade Treaty, Days Four and Five: As the Temperature Rises, the Doors Close, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 25, 2013. "The row between China and the European Union at the U.N. conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) got Thursday off to a heated start. By the time Friday came to a close, it seemed possible that the conference might collapse into the same acrimonious confusion that ended last July’s negotiations."

At the ATT, China Intervenes Against the EU

The Arms Trade Treaty, Day Four: As a New Draft Arrives, China Speaks and the EU Begs, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 22, 2013. "The fun began with an intervention on Wednesday by Germany, speaking on behalf of the EU, and asking—begging, really—for the EU to have the right to sign the treaty. Because the national interests in the EU are too diverse to allow it to settle on a common negotiating position, all the EU wants is the pathetic validation of its own existence that would derive from signing the treaty. It’s not in the room to achieve anything substantive."

U.S. Isolation at Arms Trade Treaty Conference

The Arms Trade Treaty, Day Three: Turning Up the Pressure on the U.S., Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 21, 2013. "As the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference moved through its third day, the isolation of the United States became ever clearer. The U.S. position is that the current text of the treaty, negotiated last July, needs to be better drafted but should not be substantially changed. Yesterday, it became increasingly obvious that most nations disagree."

How the Dictators Hang Together

A Falkland Islands Coda, Contentions, March 21, 2013. "Spurred on by James Kirchick’s superb piece on why the Falkland Islands matter, and by my on-going visit to the UN, it’s worth pointing out how the Falklands illustrate one more thing: how the autocracies, in hanging together at the UN, all too often organize around their shared hatred of Israel."

Ammunition's Not the Issue

Is Ammunition a Flash Point in the Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations?, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 20, 2013. "One of the most discussed issues at the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference is whether ammunition should be fully included in the scope of the treaty. Predictably, opinion at the conference is strongly (though not universally) in favor of full inclusion. This mistake illustrates the broader fallacies of the ATT."

A Fog of UN Code Words

On the Rhetoric of the United Nations and the United States, Contentions, March 20, 2013. "Sitting in the back of the room as the UN’s member states negotiate the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a disorientating experience. That’s partly because it’s not a negotiation as Americans understand the term: it’s a series of more or less unconnected national interventions on particular points of interest, while the actual drafting happens out of sight. It’s also because Iran and North Korea are treated with at least as much formal respect as the United States and South Korea."

Embarrassing U.S. Policy on the Falklands

After the Falklands Referendum, U.S. Must Back Britain, Forward, Conservative Way Forward, March 20, 2013. "The policy of the United States towards the Falkland Islands is an embarrassment. It is past time for the U.S. to recognize that the sovereignty of the Islands has been settled by history, by Britain’s victory in 1982, and by the voice of the Islanders themselves."

The Underlying Tension in the ATT Negotiations

Arms Trade Treaty, Day Two: Human Rights and Non-State Actors, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 19, 2013. "In the clash between the autocracies and the sanctimonious, the U.S. can find no comfort. The autocracies aren’t aiming at the Second Amendment, but a treaty that focuses on non-state actors raises the specter of bans on the import of firearms by anyone but the government—because what the autocracies really mean by “non-state actors” is 'private citizens.'"

The Opposing Factions at the ATT

The Arms Trade Treaty, Day One: Potential Roadblocks to Agreement, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 19, 2013. "As we have explained, we believe the ATT is a bad idea, will not work, and poses numerous prudential risks to U.S. interests. But now that the conference has started, it is time to assess the main controversies, which have become clear as the opening statements by national delegations concluded."

John Stuart Mill, the ATT, and Syria

Multilateralism and the Arms Trade Treaty, Contentions, March 18, 2013. "The negotiation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which I am observing at the U.N., offers a wonderful environment in which to observe the various species of hypocrisy. But like any zoo, you pretty well know what’s in the cage. Iran will be smoothly menacing, Syria will spit venom, and every developing nation will demand “implementation assistance,” i.e. more foreign aid. In the U.N., the dangers and the silliness are somewhat mitigated by their predictability."

Kerry on Treaties as "Encouragement"

Kerry Signals Conditional U.S. Commitment to U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 18, 2013. "On Friday afternoon—the traditional time to issue unpopular statements—U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signaled the conditional commitment of the U.S. to the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The conditions were as important as the commitment: According to Kerry, the U.S. wants a “strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty” that “recognizes that each nation must tailor and enforce its own national export and import control mechanisms,” “does not impose any new requirements on the U.S. domestic trade in firearms or on U.S. exporters,” and 'bring[s] all countries closer to existing international best practices.' "

The ATT and the ABA: Part 4

The Arms Trade Treaty and the Second Amendment: Too Risky to Ratify, with John G. Malcolm, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 18, 2013. "The U.S. is sensitive to allegations that it is failing to fulfill treaty commitments, and it rightly takes its treaty obligations seriously. Because the ATT is a process that is designed to evolve and grow, it is impossible to know where it will lead."

The ATT and the ABA: Part 3

The Arms Trade Treaty and the Second Amendment: The Dangers of Transnationalism, with John G. Malcolm, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 16, 2013. "The ABA paper neglects another fundamental point. Though the ATT is a treaty, it is fundamentally a process, not an event. It envisages a secretariat (Article 12(1)) charged with assisting “effective implementation” of the treaty and (Article 21) regular conferences of nations party to the treaty that will 'consider and adopt recommendations regarding the implementation and operation of this Treaty.'"

On the Moran-Kelly Resolution

Congress Shows Leadership on U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 15, 2013. "A powerful group of Senators and Representatives came together on Wednesday to introduce a concurrent resolution expressing concerns with the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This effort was led by Senator Jerry Moran (R–KS) and Representative Mike Kelly (R–PA), who united 28 colleagues in the Senate and 121 in the House."

The ATT and the ABA: Part 2

The Arms Trade Treaty and the Second Amendment: Encouraging Executive Actions, with John G. Malcolm, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 14, 2013. "In the first part of the series, we noted our concerns with the implications of the treaty for the import of firearms and as they relate to the federal structure of the U.S. In this second part, we look at how the treaty’s requirements may invite further executive actions by the United States."

Debunking the Debunkers

Debunked: ‘Myths’ of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 14, 2013. "The office of Representative Raul M. Grijalva (D–AZ) distributed a “Dear Colleagues” letter to House Republicans on March 1 that seeks to debunk what it describes as four “myths” about the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The truth is more complex than the letter allows."

The ATT and the ABA

The Arms Trade Treaty and the Second Amendment: Answering the American Bar Association, with John Malcolm, Heritage Foundation Foundry, March 13, 2013. "On February 26, the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights issued a white paper on the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which concludes that “the proposed ATT is consistent with the Second Amendment.” This conclusion neglects important facts about the treaty and the processes surrounding it, which we will explore in this four-part blog series."

A Review of the ATT Text and Process

The U.S. Cannot Fix the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2774, March 13, 2013. "The failure of the initial negotiating conference for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) has been wrongly blamed on the U.S. This false accusation and the conference’s lack of seriousness illustrate the fundamental flaws of any global treaty on the conventional arms trade. While improving the currently unacceptable treaty text may be possible, the treaty would still fail to achieve its purported aim and would pose irremediable risks to U.S. national interests. Yet if the U.S. blocks the adoption of a consensus text at the March conference, a significant number of states will likely negotiate a treaty outside the U.N. system. Participation in this conference is therefore a no-win game that the U.S. should decline to play on the grounds that it already has, and will continue to operate and reform, a world-class export control system that substantially achieves the supposed object and purpose of the proposed treaty."

Puzzling U.S. Policy on The Falkland Islands

US Should Stop Playing Games with the Freedom of the Falkland Islands, Yorkshire Post (UK), March 12, 2013. "It is hard to understand what the US thinks it is achieving by encouraging Britain to negotiate away the rights of the Falkland Islanders. Yet that is exactly what Washington is doing. Starting with the notorious 2010 press conference with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, a string of US officials have urged Britain to negotiate with Argentina."

The ATT Cannot Work

The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty and the ‘Gun Grab’, The Blaze, March 5, 2013. "The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is a bad idea. But it’s not a bad idea because it’s a gun grab. It’s a bad idea because it will restrain the democracies, not the dictatorships. It’s a bad idea because it cannot work."

The Falklands Are British

The United States Should Recognize British Sovereignty Over the Falkland Islands, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2771, March 4, 2013. "In order to assert their inherent right to choose their own form of government, the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands will hold a referendum on March 10–11, 2013, to decide whether they wish to maintain their allegiance to Great Britain. Britain has administered the Islands peacefully and continuously since 1833, with the exception of the two months in 1982 when the Islands were invaded and illegally occupied by Argentine forces. The Obama Administration has backed Argentina’s calls for a U.N.-brokered settlement for the Islands and so far has refused to recognize the outcome of the referendum. This policy poses serious risks to U.S. interests and is an insult both to Britain—the U.S.’s closest ally—and to the rights of the Islanders."

The Al-Qaeda Threat in the U.S.

British Report Supports Heritage Analysis of Al-Qaeda Threat, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 28, 2013. "On Monday, the Britain-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society—named for Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Washington—published a major report by co-authors Robin Simcox and Emily Dyer on Al-Qaeda in the United States: A Complete Analysis of Terrorism Offenses."

Defining Victory Down

Al-Qaeda in the United States, Contentions, February 27, 2013. "It was also 20 years ago that Senator Daniel Moynihan warned of the dangers of “defining deviancy down.” Today, our strategy against Al-Qaeda is to win by defining victory down, and focusing only on the damage we do to its so-called core. That wrongly elevates drone strikes from a tool into a strategy, ignores the recruiting appeal of the Islamist ideology that is at the heart of the danger posed by Al-Qaeda, and neglects the fact that we are not very good at anticipating how al-Qaeda’s franchises and allies will grow, cooperate, and spread. Last year, very few analysts worried about Islamist militants in the Mahgreb; today, they control half a country."

U.S. Should Respect Outcome of Falklands Referendum

Falkland Islands: U.S. Should Support Right to Self-Determination, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3864, February 27, 2013. "On March 10–11, the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, will hold a referendum to decide whether to maintain allegiance to Great Britain. The islands are self-governing but maintain the British monarch as their head of state. The referendum is an answer to Argentina, which, though defeated by Britain in the 1982 Falklands War, is again waging a campaign of threats and intimidation in an effort to gain control of the islands. The U.S. should respect the outcome of the Falkland Islands referendum."

Congressional Leadership on ATT Needed

U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: Congress Should Show Leadership in Advance of the ATT Negotiations, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3863, February 26, 2013. "Next month, the United Nations will hold a second negotiating conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The first conference, held in July 2012, failed to reach consensus agreement on a treaty text. Before that conference, both the Senate and House played a constructive role in the treaty process by making their wide-ranging concerns about the ATT clear to the executive branch. Congress should now show similar leadership before the negotiations resume.

The Latest Islamist Convictions in Britain

Masterminds of British Islamist Terror Plot Convicted, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 22, 2013. "Britain’s success in breaking up this dangerous plot is encouraging. But there is nothing very new about it: The risks of the Pakistan–Britain connection have been well known for years. In a 2009 study, Heritage pointed out that homegrown Islamist terrorism was a major threat, and that “al-Qaeda’s safe haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas enables its leadership more easily to gain access to and to influence individuals with family ties to Pakistan,” including many British citizens."

Priorities in US-European Relations

John Kerry’s Grand Tour: Priorities for Europe, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3858, February 21, 2013. "The Obama Administration has too often taken America’s relations with Europe for granted. Secretary Kerry’s trip to Europe will offer him an opportunity to improve relations with America’s European partners, especially the United Kingdom, while at the same time ending blind U.S. support for deeper European integration."

In Politics, Pragmatism Only Goes So Far

Obama’s Lesson for Cameron on the Pitfalls of Pragmatism, Yorkshire Post (UK), February 15, 2013. "The longer Barack Obama is in the White House, the more closely he comes to resemble Tony Blair. Blair’s greatest strength was his ability to masquerade as a man without ideology, a pragmatist interested simply in doing what works. By defining himself as the rational center, he automatically stigmatized his opponents as irrational extremists."

What To Say Every Day

Valentine’s Day Advice from Ronald Reagan, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 14, 2013. "In 2004, Kiron Skinner, Annelise Anderson, and Martin Anderson released Reagan: A Life in Letters, a best-selling selection from the more than 10,000 letters than President Ronald Reagan wrote in his lifetime. Reagan wrote the following letter to his son Michael in 1971, just before his marriage. It is a characteristic expression of Reagan’s sincerity, charm, and humanity."

Instant Response to the 2013 SOTU

Foreign Policy in Retreat, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 12, 2013. "What was striking about Obama’s remarks was how strongly his foreign policy vision contrasted with his domestic policy prescriptions. At home, it seems that very little does not qualify as an “investment”: by his way of thinking, the government exists to start programs, spend money, tax the rich, and do things. But abroad, the government exists mostly to stop doing things."

Oxfam America's All Out ATT Attack

The Truth About the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 8, 2013. "Supporters of the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) are turning up the heat ahead of another push next month to finalize the treaty. Oxfam America is second to none in its advocacy of this bad treaty, and on Wednesday released a paper accusing opponents of the treaty of mounting a “campaign of lies and deliberate distortions” in order to stop a treaty that stands for “truth and justice” and “will prevent the irresponsible sale, gift, or lease of weapons and ammunition across borders.” The Heritage Foundation was itself singled out, and so we’d like to respond. First, of course, we’d like to thank Oxfam for recognizing the impact our work has had. As the author of the paper cited, I am doubly obliged. But we strongly disagree with Oxfam’s charge and think the organization itself is engaging in serious mischaracterizations of what this proposed treaty would do and not do."

Containment of Iran: Not the Easy Way Out

Iran: Rand Paul’s Containment Strategy, with Jim Phillips, Heritage Foundation Foundry, February 7, 2013. "Although few conservatives would disagree with that prescription, he rightly raised concerns about Iran and argued that there might be policy options between trying to talk to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to death and bombing Iran. He suggested the U.S. consider a version of a strategy of containment. Heritage examined this option in previous research. The containment option carries with it serious concerns."

The Reagan Doctrine and Obama

No, the Obama Doctrine Is Not the Reagan Doctrine, Heritage Foundation Foundry, January 24, 2013. "In the realm of foreign policy, President Obama’s a second Ronald Reagan, or so says James Joyner, the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. This is an example of a curious phenomenon: When a conservative is in office, liberals call him mad, bad, and dangerous. But when he’s safely out of office for twenty years or so, he becomes an example of wise and prudent statesmanship, and a supposed inspiration to the liberal idol of the day. It happened to Eisenhower, to Nixon, to Reagan, and to George H.W. Bush. One day, it will even happen to George W. Bush. The only leaders that liberal foreign policy gurus rarely celebrate are their own: No one wants to wear the mantle of Lyndon Johnson or Jimmy Carter."

Cut Loose from the EU Carcass

Another View from Washington DC: The State Department and EU Are Natural Allies, Heritage Foundation Foundry, January 17, 2013. "In his energetic response to Philip Gordon’s ill-conceived request that Britain forget about recovering its sovereignty and protecting its democracy, Hannan argues that the State Department wants Britain in the EU because the U.S. is gradually realizing that the EU is, “Frankenstein-like,” defining itself by petulant hostility to the U.S., and it wants Britain inside to moderate that hostility. If only. The State Department doesn’t want Britain inside because it disagrees with the EU. It wants Britain inside because it agrees with the EU. Not with absolutely everything it does, of course ¬– but most of the things that Hannan finds objectionable are things the State Department likes."

The New Nixon

"Nixon and Obama . . . Two Presidents, Two Eras and the American Path They Share," Yorkshire Post (UK), not available online, January 9, 2013. "With the exception of George Washington’s on February 22 – now shamefully amalgamated into Presidents Day – Americans have never paid much attention to presidential birthdays. So Richard Milhous Nixon’s one hundredth anniversary on January 9 will occasion no parades. But Nixon is relevant nonetheless. President Obama’s admirers like to compare him to Franklin Roosevelt, to John F. Kennedy, or – most commonly – to Abraham Lincoln, an allusion that Obama echoed by opening his campaign in 2007 in Springfield, Illinois. The comparison to Kennedy – an iconic figure with an exaggerated reputation – is not bad. It’s certainly better than Newsweek Editor Evan Thomas’s celebrated 2009 declaration that Obama is “sort of God.” But best of all is the comparison to Nixon, America’s disgraced president."

Confirmation Hearings and US Policy Towards Europe

Hagel, Kerry, and Brennan Senate Confirmation Hearings: U.S. Policy on Europe, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3820, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, January 9, 2013. "The Senate confirmation process allows the American public an opportunity to learn more about these candidates, what they believe, and how they see America’s role in a dangerous world. The American people deserve clear answers from President Obama’s nominees and a clear-cut commitment from them that they will advance U.S. interests on the world stage and defend America’s national security needs."