Good News from Interpol

An American Businessman Escapes the Clutches of Interpol – and Russia, Forbes, April 30, 2016. "Earlier this month, Ilya Katsnelson, an American businessman living in Denmark, received welcome news from Interpol: it had concluded that Russia’s request for his arrest and extradition was predominantly political, and so Interpol was barred by its own constitution from assisting Putin’s regime in any way. I hope that brings the Katsnelson case to an end. But if you do business internationally, it’s a case you should know about."

I Am Utterly Shocked By These Events

Who Could Possibly Have Expected This Anti-Semitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party?, Weekly Standard Online, with Robin Simcox, April 29, 2016. "Utterly, totally unexpected developments are occurring in Britain's Labour Party, which is led by Jeremy Corbyn, a man who once described Osama bin Laden's death as "an assassination attempt, and . . . yet another tragedy, upon a tragedy, upon a tragedy." It turns out—and certainly, no one could possibly have seen this coming—that some of Corbyn's supporters don't like Jews very much."

And There Are A Lot More Than Three

3 Ways Paris Climate Agreement Just Won’t Work, Newsday, April 29, 2016. "The Paris agreement on climate change that Secretary of State John Kerry signed in Paris on Friday may be the worst accord the United States has ever entered into as a nation."

Guess Who This Post Is About?

Our Next President Must Stand Up to Putin, Daily Signal, with Daniel Kochis, April 29, 2016. "Whoever takes over the White House in 2017 will face an aggressive, revanchist Russia that is a threat to the United States and our allies. No amount of wishful thinking can obscure this fact. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas region of Ukraine is just one example in a long list of recent aggressions and abuses that should dissuade any new administration from viewing Russia through rose colored glasses."

Front of the Line

Britain at the “Back of the Queue?” Why Obama Is Wrong About Trade and Brexit, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4552, "During an April 22 press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama stated that, were Britain to leave the European Union, Britain would end up at the “back of the queue” for a trade deal with the United States. Observers wrongly understood this to mean that the U.S. would not negotiate with Britain until it had completed negotiations with all other trading partners. In fact, the President meant that negotiations with Britain could not, as a practical matter, be concluded for a number of years. The President is incorrect: Negotiations with Britain could be completed faster than other pending U.S. negotiations, because the kind of trade treaty the U.S. should seek to negotiate with Britain is different from the controversial, all-encompassing, large-bloc agreements the Administration has pursued in the Pacific and the Atlantic."

Finally, My Dissertation Is Relevant

For Earth Day, Barack and David Recycle Some Cliches, Weekly Standard Online, April 25, 2016. "In the quarter-center I’ve spent studying British relations with Europe, I have never seen, or read, a performance that recapitulated as many cliches as President Obama's press conference with Prime Minister Cameron on Friday. I suppose I should be grateful: in future, I won't have to spend months scrounging around British archives for materials to illustrate how poorly American politicians understand the European issue in Britain: Obama's given me all the sources I need."

Who Else Calls The Allies Free-Loaders?

Are America’s Allies A Bunch Of Free-Riders?, Forbes, April 21, 2016. "Is the United States being cheated by its allies around the world? Are the European members of NATO free-riders on the United States? That’s what President Obama says. And he’s been saying it for years. But it’s not true."

It's Called Sovereignty

The Virtues of Brexit, Washington Times, April 14, 2016. "On June 23, the people of Britain will vote in a referendum to decide if they will stay in the European Union or step out on their own in a Brexit. For their sake and ours, I hope they choose to exit."

A Wistful View from the White House

President Obama’s Bad Bromances, Breakups, Newsday, April 10, 2016. "The president gazed out an Oval Office window and sighed. This was a hard job. It was even harder because everyone kept letting him down. He used to have so many buddies. What had happened to them?"