Friday, June 27, 2014

The Enemy of Our Enemy . . . Is Our Enemy

In the Middle East, An Avalanche of Disasters, Newsday, June 27, 2014. "The past weeks have brought an avalanche of disasters for the United States in the wider Middle East. Unless the Obama administration changes course, the coming months will bring worse."

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Concluding Reflections on the U.N. PoA

Concluding Reflections on a Pointless U.N. Gathering on Guns, National Review Online, June 25, 2014. "As I noted Monday on the Corner, the biennial meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) that concluded on Friday went about as well from the U.S. perspective as it could have done. But that doesn’t mean it’s harmless: The broader context of the PoA is completely wedded to the promotion of gun control, and to the promotion in the U.S. of supposedly binding transnational norms that would reinterpret and hence change the Constitution."

Monday, June 23, 2014

Summing Up the U.N. PoA

At the Close of the U.N.’s Programme of Action, Wins – and A Few Losses – for the U.S., National Review Online, June 23, 2014. "The U.N. Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA), which I’ve been covered for the Corner over the past week, wrapped up on Friday afternoon with a consensus outcome — i.e., one that’s unanimously tolerated, if not unanimously liked. In the field of firearms, nothing that the U.N. does can be genuinely good for the U.S., but as these things go, the PoA wasn’t too bad."

Thursday, June 19, 2014

NGO Statements from Myself and Canadian NFA to the U.N. PoA

At NGO Day at the U.N. Programme of Action, Forthright Talk from Canada, National Review Online, June 19, 2014. "Today’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) focused on statements by non-governmental organizations. As far as the conservative organizations go, the direct impact of these is minimal: most everyone else in the room is on the other team."

U.S. Allies at the U.N. PoA: More Needed

On Firearms, the U.S. Needs Allies at the U.N., National Review Online, June 19, 2014. "The topic has shifted at this week’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA). The focus on Wednesday was on the provision of foreign aid — undoubtedly a major reason why many nations are in the room. As the discussion unfolds, it’s hard to ignore just how isolated the U.S. is at the U.N. on firearms issues, and, on a related issue, just how little most of the other national delegations know about the subject."

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wait, Hypocrisy at the U.N.? I Never!

The U.N.’s Unique Species of Hypocrisy, Arms-Trafficking Edition, National Review Online, June 18, 2014. "It would be a wearying task to catalog every kind of hypocrisy on display at this week’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms — the PoA, where the main issues I set out for the Corner yesterday continue to be a focus of discussion. But the main principal species of lies, evasions, and question-begging at Turtle Bay are worth recording, precisely because they are so dominant."

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A Small U.N. Win for the U.S.

At the U.N., An Ever So Small Win Against Gun Control, National Review Online, June 17, 2014. "If you’ve never attended what’s commonly described as a debate at the United Nations, you might believe that the U.N. actually proceeds by debate. You would be wrong."

Monday, June 16, 2014

Scene Setter for the Start of the U.N. PoA

The U.N.’s Biennial Surreptitious Gun Control Conference Begins, National Review Online, June 16, 2014. "The “Programme of Action” — which starts its fifth biennial meeting in New York today — is a classic U.N. institution, in that it manages to combine a complete lack of substantive accomplishments with sinister intentions."

Friday, June 13, 2014

Cronyism on the Pitch

The World Cup/Olympics Traveling Circus, Newsday, June 13, 2014. "Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach of the U.S. soccer team, caught flak this past week for saying that it's "not realistic" to believe that his men can win the World Cup. While a U.S. victory would indeed be a shock, the most unrealistic thing about the World Cup is the wider hopes that are pinned on it."

Time To Leave the U.N. Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons

U.S. Participation in the U.N.’s ‘Programme of Action’ on Small Arms and Light Weapons Is Not in the National Interest, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4238, June 13, 2014. "The fifth biennial meeting of the U.N. “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” (PoA) will be held on June 16–20, 2014. The PoA includes a range of commitments on which participating nations have agreed to report. It is not a treaty but, in theory, a mechanism for encouraging voluntary cooperation."

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Recommendations on U.S. Policy Towards Europe

President Obama Goes to Europe: Top Five Policy Recommendations, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4234, June 4, 2014. "President Obama’s visit to Europe this week will be an important opportunity for the U.S. President to restate America’s commitment to the transatlantic partnership, strengthen the NATO alliance, and shore up European opposition to Russian aggression against Ukraine."