The Background to Spain's Arrest of Browder

Why Was Bill Browder Arrested in Spain?, Forbes, May 31, 2018. "Bill Browder, the well-known author of Red Notice, energetic opponent of Russian corruption, and progenitor of the Magnitsky Act, was briefly arrested in Spain yesterday morning. The circumstances of his arrest are “murky,” but here’s what I believe happened."

The Ups and Downs of Firearms Export Control Reforms

The Good and the Bad of Reforms to Firearms Export Controls, Forbes, May 29, 2018. "In my last column, I summarized the origin of the proposed changes to the export controls on firearms, ammunition, and related materials, and dismissed some of the criticisms of these reforms as based on ignorance of how the system will work -- or on the presumption that if the Trump administration is doing it, it must be bad. In this column, I'll look at the up- and downsides of the proposed reforms."

The Background to ITAR 1-3 Reform

Trump Administration’s Proposed Reforms to Firearms Export Controls Are Good – Mostly, Forbes, May 29, 2018. "On May 24, 2018, the Federal Register's website officially posted proposed reforms to the export controls on firearms and some related items. By and large, the reforms are sensible and welcome — but the 45 day comment period that begins today is also welcome, because not everything in the new rules is on point. In this two part series, I’ll explain the background of the proposed reforms, and then look at their up and down sides."

Impose Costs

Will Trump’s Iran Strategy Work?, Newsday, May 26, 2018. "In his first major policy speech as secretary of state — delivered Monday at the Heritage Foundation — Mike Pompeo set out the Trump administration’s Iran strategy. It’s heartening that the United States has a plan: ditching the nuclear deal is well and good, but it’s not a strategy. But is the plan a good one?"

The U.S. Goal Is to Ensure the PoA Continues To Do Nothing

U.S. Goals at the 2018 Review Conference of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3313, May 14, 2018. "The U.N.’s Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) is a political mechanism, which works by unanimous consensus for encouraging voluntary cooperation against the illicit small-arms trade. It is a substantive failure, but that is unlikely to stop the PoA’s forthcoming Third Review Conference from seeking to expand the PoA in unproductive ways—including by advocating an unworkable plan for the registry of individual rounds of ammunition and supporting new technical requirements for civilian firearms. If the U.S. continues to participate in the PoA, it should send a strong delegation to the Conference to effectively oppose these ideas. Likewise, the U.S. should staunchly reject all efforts to transform the PoA into a treaty and not be taken in by Trojan Horse strategies designed to impose constraining international norms on the U.S."

Unsign, Already

Key Goals for the United States at the 2018 Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Issue Brief #4842, May 14, 2018. "The fourth annual Conference of States Parties to the ATT (CSP4) will be held in Japan from August 20–24, 2018. Because the ATT is not in the interests of the United States, the Administration should “unsign” the ATT. It should attend CSP4 as an observer state—with the goal of opposing any expansion of the ATT or its Secretariat."

The Power of the Executive . . .

The Other Problem with the Iran Nuclear Deal, Newsday, May 11, 2018. "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear deal, is history — at least as far as the United States is concerned. That’s both a good thing and a bad one."

U.S. Responses to Palestinian Membership of Interpol

How the United States Should Respond to Palestinian Membership in Interpol, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, May 1, 2018. " SUMMARY The Interpol General Assembly’s September 2017 decision to admit the Palestinian Authority to membership was a grave error. The Authority will likely use its membership both to pursue its political and legal war against Israel and to harass opponents abroad. The PA’s membership further debases Interpol, an international organization of police and law enforcement organizations that is constitutionally required to focus exclusively on ordinary crime. It also reflects awareness by autocracies that Interpol can be a valuable instrument of oppression and that the Western democracies’ historically dominant role in Interpol is fading. The U.S. and other like-minded nations should limit the damage that the Authority can do through Interpol and develop a strategy to resist the organization’s wider politicization."