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."

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."

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."

Land Mines, Clusters, ATT, and Interpol in FY2023 NDAA

How the National Defense Authorization (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 Should Prepare the Military for Great-Power Competition, edited by Frederico Bartels, Heritage Foundation Special Report #257, March 10, 2022, see recommendations 59 and 60.

The 2021 NDAA - Land Mines, Cluster Munitions, and Defense Cooperation

How the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and the Defense Appropriations Act Can Prepare the U.S. for Great Power Competition, with colleagues at the Heritage Foundation, Heritage Foundation Special Report #222, March 23, 2020. "The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and the Department of Defense Appropriations Act are key tools for helping the Department of Defense (DOD) adapt to great power competition. The process of preparing for great power competition will not be a fast one, nor is it a matter of simply giving the DOD more resources. It will require prioritizing the long-term challenge posed by China and Russia, while divesting from previous efforts that do not contribute to meeting those challenges. Even if the United States dedicated all federal taxpayer dollars to the defense of the nation, the DOD would still have to make hard decisions about which capabilities are necessary now and in the future, as well as about the level of readiness of each unit. The 2021 authorization and appropriations acts are excellent opportunities for Congress to help the DOD make those decisions."

Making the Case for U.S. Land Mines

Landmines Should Be an Option for the U.S., Washington Times, February 26, 2020. "On March 6, 2014, America’s highest-ranking military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, called anti-personnel landmines “an important tool in the arsenal of the armed forces of the United States.” Barely six months later, the Obama administration all but removed that tool from the U.S. arsenal by declaring the U.S. would not use landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. The Trump administration has now rightly overturned that policy."

Rejecting Obama's Unilateral Disarmament

The Trump Administration Is Right to Correct U.S. Landmine Policy, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5037, February 13, 2020. "On January 31, 2020, the Trump Administration canceled the Obama Administration’s policy that prohibited U.S. military forces from employing anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. The Obama Administration’s policy denied 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 conflict. The Obama policy was adopted against the advice of the U.S. military, in order to please the progressive activists who have led the campaign against anti-personnel landmines, a campaign that has led only to the disarmament of democracies. The new U.S. policy issued by the Department of Defense responsibly authorizes Combatant Commanders, in exceptional circumstances, to employ advanced, non-persistent landmines specifically designed to reduce unintended harm to civilians and partner forces."

The Annual NDAA Blockbuster

The Role of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in Rebuilding the U.S. Military, contributor, Heritage Foundation Special Report #208, February 6, 2019. "The FY 2020 defense budget will be the most important defense budget of the Trump Administration. In great measure, the FY 2020 budget will determine the destiny of the military rebuild championed by President Trump and by Congress. Due to recent budget increases, the military has seen gains in readiness, but the rebuild is far from a completed task. Every service has expressed the imperative to increase in size and in capabilities in order to counter great power competition as described in the National Defense Strategy. The FY 2020 defense budget represents the fork in the road for the military rebuild and for the viability of the defense strategy. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will be a clear signal of how Congress intends to shape the resources that will define the military’s effort and direction. In this Special Report, Heritage Foundation analysts detail 57 recommendations for Congress on how to continue the crucial rebuilding of the U.S. military through the 2020 NDAA."

The 2019 NDAA

The 2019 NDAA Must Continue to Rebuild the Military and Make it More Efficient, contributor to to Heritage Foundation Special Report #198, February 9, 2018. "The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) needs to be a step forward in rebuilding the Armed Forces’ capacity, capability, and readiness. Every single service is facing important questions about its future, both in terms of end strength and the infrastructure that will support its mission. Congress plays a vital role in shaping the military forces for next year and for the years to come. The NDAA is the best vehicle for Congress to shape the military’s present and future. The military did not get to the current level of deteriorated readiness in one year, and it will take consistent and sustained effort to rebuild that readiness. The 2019 NDAA needs to build on last year’s efforts and establish a reliable trend of investment."

NYT, Wrong Again

New York Times Gets the Facts Wrong on Land Mines, Daily Signal, January 11, 2018. "Every year, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines publishes a report on the number of casualties caused by land mines—or so it says. And every year, gullible journalists take the report’s headline figure at face value. But this year, the worst offender is a particularly prestigious outlet: The New York Times, whose editorial board authored a column titled “Why Do Land Mines Still Kill So Many?”"

My Annual Land Mines Rebuttal

No, Land Mine Casualties Aren’t Increasing. Wars Are, Forbes, December 13, 2016, "Every year, the International Coalition to Ban Landmines (ICBL) publishes its Landmine Monitor. And every year, journalists run their press release as a story without, apparently, bothering to read the report. This year, no surprises, it’s the turn of The New York Times, which in late November reported that “Land Mine Casualties Jump 75% as Funding for Their Removal Declines.”"

Recommendations on ATT and Land Mines for FY 2017 NDAA

The 2017 NDAA Should Begin Rebuilding America’s Military, with lead co-author Justin Johnson and others, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3105, March 28, 2016. "It is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that the armed forces have the capacity and capability to protect the nation’s vital interests. Congress should specifically preserve military capacity and maintain options so that the next President can grow the military and improve American security. The fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) should focus on building a stronger military that can better protect America while bolstering partnerships with friends and allies around the world."

Apparently, Nuclear War Is Better Than Land Mines

Daily Signal, January 29, 2016. "Whenever I write on any of the treaties beloved of the left—whether it’s the treaty on land mines, on cluster munitions, or on conventional arms—I’m sure that, somewhere, I’m outraging a progressive. This time, Michael Moore, a campaigner at Landmines in Africa—and presumably no more than an ideological relative of the film propagandist of that name—takes exception to a piece on land mines I wrote before Christmas."

Contra Contra Land Mines

Why Liberals Are Wrong About Land Mines, Daily Signal, December 23, 2015. "One of the progressive left’s favorite causes is campaigning against land mines. The Obama administration naturally has promised to stop producing or buying anti-personnel land mines (APL). In addition, the administration has said it will to stop using mines outside the Korean Peninsula, and – eventually – accede to the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel mines entirely. Although this might sound great to some, land mines actually cause few civilian casualties, and are an important weapon for the U.S. military."

ATT and Land Mine Recommendations for NDAA FY 2016

10 Objectives for the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, with Steven P. Bucci, Dean Cheng, Brian Slattery, Michaela Dodge, Luke Coffey, David Inserra, and Charles Stimson, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3002, March 16, 2015. "The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a central piece of legislation for Congress each year. The NDAA is one of the last remaining bills that enjoys true bipartisan consensus, in part because Congress understands the critical need to set defense policies and guidelines for national security. The FY 2016 NDAA will continue in this tradition. The NDAA does, however, face a range of problems. A team of Heritage Foundation national security experts have compiled a set of 10 objectives—addressing issues from military morale to missile defense to Taiwan and China—that Congress should support."

On Land Mines, 538 Gets the Data Wrong

FiveThirtyEight Gets Land Mine Data Wrong and Makes It Look Like a Bad Treaty Is Working, National Review Online, December 11, 2014, "The defining aspect of the 2000s isn’t declining land-mine casualties, and the Obama administration’s push to comply with the APL convention is as irrelevant to humanitarian aims as it is dangerous militarily. But the real irony is that while the ICBL pats itself on the back for its progress in defeating the land-mine scourge, and the Obama administration applauds in the background, the most significant new weapon of war in the past decade is the insurgent’s IED. In other words, Lyte’s wrong: The land mine, so far as international law sees it, is not going away"

Norms v. National Security

Obama Says No to Landmines, with Steve Groves, National Review Online, September 29, 2014. "On March 6, 2014, America’s highest-ranking military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, called anti-personnel landmines (APLs) “an important tool in the arsenal of the armed forces of the United States.” Yesterday, President Obama banned the armed forces from using them. Why? To comply with a treaty — the Ottawa Convention — that the United States hasn’t even ratified. The U.S. Senate has not given its advice and consent to the treaty, but the Obama administration still feels compelled, in the words of a State Department spokesman, to “underscore its commitment to the spirit and humanitarian aims of the Ottawa Convention.”