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."