Surprise, Surprise, the ATT's A Failure

Even Friends of the Arms Trade Treaty Admit It’s Not Working, Daily Signal, August 30, 2019. "The nations that are party to the Arms Trade Treaty gathered for their annual meeting this week in Geneva. The United States is not there, as President Donald Trump wisely withdrew from the treaty last month. The U.S. isn’t missing much in Switzerland. Even the treaty’s friends admit it’s a failure."

Finally, We're Out

How the U.S. Should Follow Up Its Unsigning of the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4995, August 20, 2019. "President Trump’s decision to notify the United Nations that the U.S. does not intend to become a party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and thereby to unsign the ATT, was proper and wise. The failure of the ATT is demonstrated by the poor track record of its states parties in fulfilling their reporting and financial requirements. The U.S. should follow up its unsigning of the ATT by putting further diplomatic pressure on the treaty and on the related network of U.N. small arms instruments."

Look Homeward

Why Europe Should Look Inward, Newsday, August 18, 2019. "U.S. relations with Europe are at a low ebb. While President Donald Trump has contributed to the tensions, many of the same difficulties were visible under President Barack Obama. And these tensions are likely to get worse, not better, in the years to come."

Belaboring the Obvious on Interpol, Part 2

Examining Trends in Political Unrest and Allegations of Interpol Abuse, with Yuriy Nemets, Forbes, August 2, 2019. "One of the striking patterns in cases received by the CCF is the way that some countries appear regularly among the top ten nations, whereas other countries appear suddenly."

Belaboring the Obvious on Interpol, Part 1

Does Political Unrest Contribute to INTERPOL Abuse?, with Yuriy Nemets, Forbes, August 2, 2019. "Because the CCF groundlessly refuses to release the information about member countries’ violations of INTERPOL’s rules, any study of this subject is fraught with many uncertainties, which the current authors acknowledge and emphasize. But it is clear, at least, that the public profile of INTERPOL abuse is higher than it was a decade ago. It is likely that this higher profile has led more people to take more cases, including meritorious ones, to the CCF. But it is also likely that the public profile of INTERPOL abuse is higher because, as the CCF numbers imply and as many journalists and analysts have concluded, there is simply more abuse now than there used to be. Even if this increase in abuse was driven partly, or significantly, by the creation of INTERPOL’s I-24/7 system, it is worth exploring other potential causes for it."