TRAP Act Reports Ignore State Department's Interpol Abuse Reports

Conflicting Accounts on Interpol Abuse: Comparing US Government Reports, with Sandra Grossman, Red Notice Monitor, September 29, 2023. "Many of those organizations and individuals who championed the TRAP Act, in the hope that it would compel the U.S. government to lead the fight for the reform of Interpol as well as promote deeper understanding of Interpol abuse, have been sorely disappointed by the initial TRAP reports. In short, the DoJ-DoS TRAP reports contain numerous contradictions and misstatements of fact, and are incompatible with the better, if not complete, reporting on Interpol abuse published by the State Department in its Country Reports. There is room for significant improvement in the first two TRAP reports. The author also hopes that these reports are not representative of DoS and DoJ’s support for Interpol reforms."

Back to Cluster Munitions

The Left Was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong on Cluster Munitions, with Steven Groves, Daily Signal, July 13, 2023. "For well over a decade, the Left has waged war on cluster munitions. Left-wing nongovernmental organizations and other groups have demonized them, liberal U.S. administrations have downplayed them, and the left-leaning media have exaggerated the civilian casualties they cause. But now, in a complete about-face, the U.S. has agreed to supply cluster munitions to the embattled forces of Ukraine in its war against Russia.That’s the right decision. But in coming belatedly to it, the Biden administration has effectively admitted that the Left’s case against cluster munitions was baseless."

NATO - The Foundation, But Not the Sole Focus, of U.S.'s Europe Policy

Ahead of 2023 NATO Summit, U.S. Policy in Europe Must Advance Prosperity and Security, with Dan Kochis, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5323, July 7, 2023. "The U.S. does not have a serious policy for Europe: The Biden Administration’s claim that foreign and domestic policy are now one is intended to excuse its failings abroad and justify its progressive policies at home. At the July 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, the U.S. should press for the rapid adoption and full funding of NATO’s regional plans and support Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, while building a wider security and economic framework that will serve the West in the face of an aggressive China. The Biden Administration remains reflexive in Europe, clearly keen to shelve the region and return to its domestic priorities once the war subsides. This approach does not serve U.S. interests."

The British Elite's Bad Ideas

The Brexit Blame Game, Daily Signal, June 23, 2023. "Brexit wasn’t so much a policy as it was a demand that Britain have the right and the opportunity to make its own policies. It’s won that right—but Britain has to walk through the door on its own. So far, it mostly has failed to do so—and the policies it’s chosen mostly have been mistakes."

Anglo-American Gabfests

In UK Relations, Biden Administration Substitutes ‘Declarations’ for Action, Daily Signal, June 12, 2023. "British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak—the U.K.’s third prime minister in the past year—visited the White House on Thursday in his first official trip to the U.S. This is the fourth time that Sunak and President Joe Biden have seen each other in the past four months. But familiarity isn’t breeding much in this relationship."

Midge Decter's Memorial and Legacy

Heritage Foundation to Host Memorial Conference Honoring Midge Decter, Daily Signal, May 23, 2023. "Midge Decter, for many years a board member of The Heritage Foundation, and for much longer a leader in conservative thought and action, passed away a year ago this month on May 9, 2022. Next week, on May 31, at 2 p.m. EDT, Heritage will host a conference celebrating her life and legacy and looking at the continued relevance of her thoughts on today’s challenges."

All Blacks or Black and Tans?

President Biden’s Visits to United Kingdom and Ireland Must Serve Prosperity and Peace, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5311, April 6, 2023. "President Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement comes at a crucial time. Northern Ireland’s governing institutions have been badly damaged by the European Union’s vindictive approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, negotiated as part of the U.K.’s exit from the EU. In practice, the EU values its Customs Union far more than it values the Good Friday Agreement, and despite U.S. praise for the Agreement, the U.S. has backed the EU’s approach. The President should avoid making things worse, reject the half-truths and mythologies on which U.S. praise for the Agreement is often based, and focus on deliverables, especially a free trade area with the U.K."

Russia, Canada, and Fish -- and China

Winning the New Cold War: A Plan for Countering China, edited by Jim Carafano, Michael Pillsbury, Jeff Smith, and Andrew Harding, Heritage Foundation Special Report #270, March 28, 2023, sections on “Diminish the Value of Russia as China’s Ally," “Improve U.S.-Canadian Bilateral Cooperation," and “Address Illegal Fishing and Maritime Militia Activities." "The Heritage Foundation’s “Winning the New Cold War” describes the ends, ways, and means to secure America’s future while confronting the greatest external threat the U.S. has faced since the collapse of the Soviet Union—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To be successful, this plan requires real and sustained U.S. economic growth, greater political will, stronger external partnerships, synchronized economic and security policies, resilient supply chains and borders, adequate military deterrence, and American energy independence. It also requires buy-in from the whole of American society. In order to implement a whole-of-nation strategy, the U.S. government must educate the American public and business community, from Main Street to Wall Street, about the scope of the threat from the CCP."

NDAA 2024 - Treaties, Interpol, and Taiwain

NDAA 2024: Increasing the Readiness of the U.S. Military, edited by Maiya Clark, Heritage Foundation Special Report #269, March 22, 2023,sections 64-66. "Congress should condemn the Attorney General and the Secretary of State for refusing to publish a substantive report in compliance with Section 6503 of the FY 2022 NDAA. It should reiterate its request for such a report, this time requiring that the report draw on all available public evidence, including that already published by the State Department, and state that it will respond with hearings to any failure to produce a substantive report."

The Russian Nuclear Danger

What Russia Says About Nuclear Weapons And What It Means, with Robert Seely PhD MP and Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, 19fortyfive March 14, 2023. "Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime has consistently signaled that the Ukraine War could trigger Moscow’s use of nuclear weapons. After a lull in threats toward the end of last year, possibly due to China exerting its influence over the Kremlin, those threats are on the rise again. At the end of February, former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev said the world faces a nuclear apocalypse if the West continues to arm Ukraine with advanced weaponry."

Putin's Martyr Complex and Russia's WMDs

The U.S. and Its Allies Must Understand and Respond to Russia’s Nuclear Threats, with Robert Seely PhD MP and Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #5373. "Vladimir Putin’s dreams of Ukraine re-incorporated into Russia, of breaking up NATO, and of Russia leading a global anti-Western alliance are collapsing about him. Disaster for Russia’s imploding armed forces may well await, and, eventually, Ukraine’s armed forces will likely threaten to break Russia’s land corridor linking Crimea to the Donbas. At that point, Putin will make one of the most fateful decisions of the century: to use nuclear or chemical weapons or not. The U.S. must minimize that threat and ensure the protection of the American public and of U.S. allies."

A Moment of Opportunity

How Russia’s War Impacts U.S. Influence in Europe, Limes Online, February 24, 2023 [paid access]. "One of the many unintended side-effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine has been the sudden revival of the U.S.’s influence in Europe – or at least in NATO. Yet again, as it has done so many times in the past, the European members of NATO have been reminded that the threats to European security are real and cannot be met without the leadership and assistance of the United States. But the U.S. recovery of its influence risks being a waning asset, because of the strains posed by the war, because of the decline it implies in Russia’s influence, and because the U.S. ultimately faces a greater challenge from China, a challenge to which Europe is only beginning to awake."

Leftists and the PRC, Together in the ATT

How Progressives Enable China’s Exploitation of the Arms Trade Treaty, with former Heritage intern Sterling Mosley, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3746, January 30, 2023. "While achieving greater transparency in the arms trade is sensible in theory, the ATT has neither promoted meaningful transparency nor prevented nations from supplying regimes with arms to commit crimes against humanity. The treaty has only hampered Western democracies. China only signed the ATT at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to save face. Since signing, China has continued to export conventional weapons to repressive dictatorships.Revealingly, after China signed the treaty it joined the progressive supporters of the ATT—from governments to politicians to media to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—by criticizing the U.S. for refusing to follow suit. China’s participation in the treaty is mere window-dressing, and the ATT’s supporters are complicit in ignoring China’s violations. These failures demonstrate again that the ATT is merely a political weapon aimed at the U.S. and its allies."

Neutrality Is Not Blindness

Interpol Is Doing Russia’s Dirty Work, with barrister Ben Keith, Politico, January 24, 2023. "Interpol’s member countries pledge to work together to prevent genuine criminals from escaping justice, and the system is based on the presumption that all its members are acting in good faith. But like other authoritarian members of Interpol, Russia abuses that presumption to pursue enemies of Putin’s regime. That has to stop, and Interpol has all the tools it needs to do so — including suspending Russia from the organization."

More Silliness, and Worse, from Interpol

Another Year Brings More Autocratic Victories Over the Democratic Members of Interpol, Daily Signal, November 4, 2022. "The most recent annual meeting of Interpol’s governing body brought more bad news for its democratic member states, including the U.S."

Limit U.S. Visas for Russia

The Administration Needs to Increase Visa Sanctions on Russia, with Simon Hankinson and Victoria Coates, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5291, September 27, 2022. "Economic sanctions against Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 are having an effect on the Russian economy and society, but not quickly or decisively enough to end the war. In addition to stronger economic sanctions, increased pressure is necessary to convince all Russians, not just Vladimir Putin, government officials, and/or Russian oligarchs, that they share some responsibility for the invasion and prosecution of the war and that they will not be able to travel freely while the conflict rages. Especially in conjunction with European Union visa sanctions, restricting visa issuance to all Russian citizens, anywhere in the world, will add more pressure on the Putin regime to bring his war to an end."

Interpol Elections and Interpol Abusers

US Leadership Needed to Push Back on China’s Abuse of Interpol, Daily Signal, August 31, 2022. "But Interpol does have problems. And China is among the biggest. The next meeting of the Interpol General Assembly, which makes the final decisions for the organization, is set to take place in India from Oct. 18 to 21. The General Assembly’s last meeting, in 2021, was a disaster for the U.S. Representatives from authoritarian regimes, including China, took control of the Executive Committee, which supervises implementation of the General Assembly’s decisions."

A Foreign Aid Program That Works

U.S. Foreign Aid for Removing Land Mines Works Well, But Aid Allocations Need Review, Daily Signal, August 26, 2022. "The recent decision by the Biden administration to drop anti-personnel land mines from the U.S. arsenal was a serious mistake. It will not save lives. Indeed, it will likely cost lives—both of U.S. military personnel and of the civilians our military seeks to protect. But there are aspects of U.S. land mine policy that work well. Foremost among these is the support the U.S. provides to foreign countries for removing deployed land mines and destroying unexploded ordnance."

Why the ATT Is A Bad Idea, Part Infinity

War in Ukraine Shows Why Arms Trade Treaty Remains Bad Idea, Daily Signal, August 24, 2022. "The nations that have signed the Arms Trade Treaty are meeting this week in Geneva. In 2016, the Obama administration took the U.S. into the treaty. In 2019, the Trump administration took us out of it. The latter decision keeps on looking better and better."

Biden's Wrong on Landmines

The Biden Administration Is Wrong to Abandon Anti-Personnel Landmines, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5284, August 3, 2022. "On June 21, 2022, the Biden Administration canceled the Trump Administration’s policy that allowed U.S. military forces to employ anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. The Biden policy is the third major change in U.S. anti-personnel landmine policy since 2009. The Biden policy denies U.S. troops the use of weapons that could help to reduce U.S. casualties and help the U.S. military to prevail in future conflicts. It was adopted against the advice of the U.S. military in order to please progressive activists who have led the campaign against anti-personnel landmines. The Biden policy is a gift to Russia’s military land power that will do nothing to curb the misuse of anti-personnel landmines, which has skyrocketed as the campaign against these weapons has helped to disarm democracies."

Interpol's Finances

Interpol Needs Improved Financial Transparency to Restore Its Integrity and Block Autocratic Manipulation, Heritage Foundation Special Report #258, August 1, 2022. "Interpol serves a valuable purpose and deserves to be properly funded. Its democratic member nations have a particular stake in ensuring thatInterpol can fund itself through its normal budgetary processes, for the less Interpol relies on statutory contributions, the more likely it is to fall into the financial clutches of the autocracies that seek to abuse it for their own ends. The U.S. and its democratic allies in Interpol need to start laying the groundwork now for the election of the organization’s next Secretary General in 2024. No reforms of Interpol’s finances or of Interpol more broadly, no matter how necessary or far-reaching, will be effective if Interpol’s leaders are not committed to upholding and advancing them."

UK Defense, Yet Again, Goes Cheap

Why UK Defense Must Go on Offense, with intern Greyson Hoye, Daily Signal, August 1, 2022. "Following a wave of Cabinet and ministerial resignations, Boris Johnson has announced that he will step down as the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Now, Britain and the world are left to wonder who will be next to command its ship of state. Whoever it might be, the next prime minister must make defense a top priority."

Step by Step To Free Trade

Free Trade Between US, UK Is Step Closer, Daily Signal, June 27, 2022. "The United Kingdom is the U.S.’ closest ally. It also has one of the world’s largest economies. And, needless to say, Britain’s a democracy that plays by the rules. All that makes it amazing that the U.S. doesn’t have free trade with Britain. But the reason for that is simple: Until 2020, the U.K. was in the European Union, which meant it didn’t control its own trade policy."

Britain Has to Earn It

On 6th Anniversary of Brexit, UK Yet to Grab All of Freedom’s Opportunities, Daily Signal, June 22, 2022. "Six years ago, on June 23, 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union. Above all, Brexit was about regaining the right of self-government, which is a fundamental value."

Global Britain After Brexit

Defining Britain’s Post-Brexit Role in the World, Centre for Brexit Policy, June 20, 2022. Uncredited contributor to the section on U.S.-U.K. relations.