Friday, January 17, 2014

Obama's Three Failed Middle East Aims

Barack Obama’s Mideast Strategy Has Failed, Newsday, January 17, 2014. "The damning report of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Benghazi confirms that the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. compound was planned and carried out by al-Qaida."

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Top Five for 2014

Top Five Foreign Policy Priorities for 2014, with Nile Gardiner and James Phillips, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4123, January 14, 2014. "In 2014, the U.S. should be willing to stand up to those who threaten its interests while it stands with those who share its values and goals. Foremost among those values are the principles of sovereignty and self-determination, which must be as central to U.S. foreign policy as they are sacred to its system of government. Here are the top five foreign policy priorities for the Administration and Congress in 2014."

An Update on Looming ATT Dangers

After U.S. Signature, Dangers of U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Begin to Surface, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4216, January 14, 2014. "After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signed the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in September, a bipartisan majority of the Senate stated its opposition to ratifying the treaty. Over the past months, the dangers of the ATT have become increasingly obvious, and supporters of the treaty have been increasingly assertive in their claims and their criticism of the United States. The wisdom of the Senate’s opposition to the treaty having already been amply demonstrated, it is time for both the Senate and the House to hold hearings on the ATT."

Monday, January 13, 2014

A Narrative and Analysis of the Arms Trade Treaty Process

The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: A Process, Not An Event, Journal on Firearms and Public Policy, vol. 25 (Fall 2013), available in PDF only. "The ATT is ambiguous for a reason. There was no chance that all the world’s nations would ever have been able to negotiate a clear treaty, with careful definitions, regulating the entire world’s trade in conventional arms. Moreover, if they had been able to do so, it is very unlikely that such a treaty would have been acceptable to the United States, because it would almost certainly have sought to place unacceptable limits on civilian ownership."

Friday, January 3, 2014

Go Where The Going (Might Be) Easier

A Ground Game That Could Favor the U.S., Newsday, January 3, 2014. "As in the previous decade, freedom made little headway in 2013. Throughout that period, the United States has labored unsuccessfully to build free governments in the Middle East and Africa. In 2014, we should seek to promote freedom where the going may be easier."

Thursday, January 2, 2014

A New Year's Interpol Wish List for Jeh Johnson at DHS

New Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson Must Fight Interpol Abuse, Washington Times, January 2, 2014. "In his confirmation hearing to be secretary of the perennially troubled Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson emphasized that his priorities would be to fill senior DHS vacancies, improve its management and raise its morale. But now that he's on the job, Mr. Johnson is responsible for more than just the DHS. He also helps lead the National Central Bureau, through which the U.S. works with Interpol. The bureau's budget is only about $30 million, but that is no measure of the troubles it can cause."