Summer Reading on World War I

How Does Freedom Work? Read These, Newsday, August 21, 2014. "This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. The historical literature on the war is vast, rivaled only by the U.S. Civil War and the Second World War. The Great War's lessons, in the end, are what you make of them. But if you want to know more about the war, here are a few of my personal favorites."

The Lost Chance to Avoid War

Fight Hard to Deter, or Prepare for a Fight, Newsday, August 8, 2014. "In his history of the Great War, Winston Churchill was asked whether Britain could, by a dedicated act of friendship, have reconciled France and Germany and averted the war. He replied that he could not tell. All he knew was that he had done his best, and that his nation had survived. That is the wisdom of Olympus."

The Traditional Requirements of Sovereignty

An Assault on Sovereignty in Israel, Ukraine, Newsday, July 25, 2014. "At a conference in Israel earlier this month, the White House's Middle East coordinator, Philip Gordon, spoke the magic word: sovereignty. Unfortunately, for the White House, it's just a word. From Israel to Ukraine, today's crises show what happens when the world forgets what sovereignty requires."

Not Change, But Who's In Charge

Liberals Speak, A Conservative Responds, Newsday, July 11, 2014. "Just before the 4th of July, the Pew Research Center released a fascinating study of Americans' political beliefs, dividing them into seven categories from "steadfast conservatives" to "solid liberals." But what separates liberals and conservatives isn't always what they believe. It's why they believe."

The Enemy of Our Enemy . . . Is Our Enemy

In the Middle East, An Avalanche of Disasters, Newsday, June 27, 2014. "The past weeks have brought an avalanche of disasters for the United States in the wider Middle East. Unless the Obama administration changes course, the coming months will bring worse."

Concluding Reflections on the U.N. PoA

Concluding Reflections on a Pointless U.N. Gathering on Guns, National Review Online, June 25, 2014. "As I noted Monday on the Corner, the biennial meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) that concluded on Friday went about as well from the U.S. perspective as it could have done. But that doesn’t mean it’s harmless: The broader context of the PoA is completely wedded to the promotion of gun control, and to the promotion in the U.S. of supposedly binding transnational norms that would reinterpret and hence change the Constitution."

Summing Up the U.N. PoA

At the Close of the U.N.’s Programme of Action, Wins – and A Few Losses – for the U.S., National Review Online, June 23, 2014. "The U.N. Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA), which I’ve been covered for the Corner over the past week, wrapped up on Friday afternoon with a consensus outcome — i.e., one that’s unanimously tolerated, if not unanimously liked. In the field of firearms, nothing that the U.N. does can be genuinely good for the U.S., but as these things go, the PoA wasn’t too bad."

NGO Statements from Myself and Canadian NFA to the U.N. PoA

At NGO Day at the U.N. Programme of Action, Forthright Talk from Canada, National Review Online, June 19, 2014. "Today’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) focused on statements by non-governmental organizations. As far as the conservative organizations go, the direct impact of these is minimal: most everyone else in the room is on the other team."

U.S. Allies at the U.N. PoA: More Needed

On Firearms, the U.S. Needs Allies at the U.N., National Review Online, June 19, 2014. "The topic has shifted at this week’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA). The focus on Wednesday was on the provision of foreign aid — undoubtedly a major reason why many nations are in the room. As the discussion unfolds, it’s hard to ignore just how isolated the U.S. is at the U.N. on firearms issues, and, on a related issue, just how little most of the other national delegations know about the subject."

Wait, Hypocrisy at the U.N.? I Never!

The U.N.’s Unique Species of Hypocrisy, Arms-Trafficking Edition, National Review Online, June 18, 2014. "It would be a wearying task to catalog every kind of hypocrisy on display at this week’s meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms — the PoA, where the main issues I set out for the Corner yesterday continue to be a focus of discussion. But the main principal species of lies, evasions, and question-begging at Turtle Bay are worth recording, precisely because they are so dominant."

A Small U.N. Win for the U.S.

At the U.N., An Ever So Small Win Against Gun Control, National Review Online, June 17, 2014. "If you’ve never attended what’s commonly described as a debate at the United Nations, you might believe that the U.N. actually proceeds by debate. You would be wrong."

Scene Setter for the Start of the U.N. PoA

The U.N.’s Biennial Surreptitious Gun Control Conference Begins, National Review Online, June 16, 2014. "The “Programme of Action” — which starts its fifth biennial meeting in New York today — is a classic U.N. institution, in that it manages to combine a complete lack of substantive accomplishments with sinister intentions."

Cronyism on the Pitch

The World Cup/Olympics Traveling Circus, Newsday, June 13, 2014. "Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach of the U.S. soccer team, caught flak this past week for saying that it's "not realistic" to believe that his men can win the World Cup. While a U.S. victory would indeed be a shock, the most unrealistic thing about the World Cup is the wider hopes that are pinned on it."

Time To Leave the U.N. Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons

U.S. Participation in the U.N.’s ‘Programme of Action’ on Small Arms and Light Weapons Is Not in the National Interest, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4238, June 13, 2014. "The fifth biennial meeting of the U.N. “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” (PoA) will be held on June 16–20, 2014. The PoA includes a range of commitments on which participating nations have agreed to report. It is not a treaty but, in theory, a mechanism for encouraging voluntary cooperation."

Recommendations on U.S. Policy Towards Europe

President Obama Goes to Europe: Top Five Policy Recommendations, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4234, June 4, 2014. "President Obama’s visit to Europe this week will be an important opportunity for the U.S. President to restate America’s commitment to the transatlantic partnership, strengthen the NATO alliance, and shore up European opposition to Russian aggression against Ukraine."

Check Your Privilege!

Liberals Have Plenty of Privilege to Check, Too, Newsday, May 30, 2014. "Universities are hothouses for ideas, a lot of them bad. Fortunately, most die a rapid death from mockery. But the trending campus admonishment to "check your privilege" is actually a good one."

UKIP, the European Elections, and the Opportunity Beyond

Growing Pains, Weekly Standard, May 26, 2014. "There is much to applaud in UKIP’s desire to free the Parliament of Westminster from the toils of Brussels. But there is nothing about this mission that is going to be easy. Whether it wins or not on May 22, UKIP has a narrow and testing window of opportunity before the next general election. If UKIP is going to do the job, this needs to be the year it grows up."

Call It What It Is: A War

Hashtags No Substitute for Strategy, Newsday, May 18, 2014. "We are being led to believe that helping Nigeria is a mission of mercy. But we are actually taking sides in a religious war. And while we are right to side against Islamist terror, we are publicly entering this war, which the administration is not eager to explain, simply because taking visible action can be sold as easy, popular and humane. The problems of Nigeria and its neighbors are too serious to be treated so casually."

Neither Submission Nor War

Obama’s Furious Battle Against Straw Men, Newsday, May 2, 2014. "We can go well beyond his toothless sanctions on Russia without going to war. And far from loving war, Obama’s critics want to prevent it by making it clear to regimes like Russia and Iran that we will – calmly and resolutely – defend our allies and interests. By encouraging autocratic regimes to take chances, Mr. Obama actually risks encouraging wars.

Irrelevancy Commands No Respect

Obama Is Irrelevant Abroad and Now Disliked at Home, Yorkshire Post, April 29, 2014. "A year ago, Obama’s highest Gallup rankings were on foreign affairs. But by February, a majority of Americans believed the world’s leaders had little respect for the U.S. president. In late March, CBS found that only 36 percent of Americans approved of his foreign policy. Even Obamacare is more popular."

Grand Strategy, Political Economy, and Free Trade

The Limits of Free Trade, Newsday, April 18, 2014. "Since the Second World War, the United States has carried the banner of free trade. It’s not just a slogan: advancing economic freedom has been a central pillar of American grand strategy. But recently, the limits of that strategy have become clear."

The Brexit Prize and the IEA

And the Prize for Britain’s Exit to the EU Goes To . . ., Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 11, 2014. "The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in London awarded its prestigious “Brexit Prize,” a 100,000 euro award for the best plan for a British exit from the European Union (EU), earlier this week. The winner, Iain Mansfield, is the director of trade and investment at the British embassy in the Philippines. Thankfully, there are evidently still a few civil servants who have not succumbed to the British establishment’s decades-long bias in favor of the EU."

Favors Don't Work in International Affairs

The Genesis of Really Bad Ideas, Newsday, April 4, 2014. "Most bad ideas in the world grow from a few seeds. And there is no seed more dangerous than the belief that we can make other places see things our way by tossing out favors like candy at Halloween."

Against the ATT, Again

Arms Trade Treaty: Congress Warns White House on Backdoor Implementation, Heritage Foundation Foundry, April 3, 3014. "On the first anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Senator Jerry Moran (R–KS) and Representative Mike Kelly (R–PA) sent powerful messages rejecting the White House’s efforts to implement the treaty outside the ratification process."

Develop First, Cancel Second

Tomahawk Cancellation an Error of Defense Strategy and Alliance Policy, with Steve Bucci, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4190, April 2, 2014. "Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy announced that it will stop buying Tomahawk cruise missiles in fiscal year (FY) 2016 and will seek to field a replacement within a decade. This decision is an error of both defense strategy and alliance policy. Congress should reject the Navy’s plans and require it to continue buying a sufficient number of Tomahawks annually to keep production lines open and unit costs affordable until a replacement can be effectively deployed into service, and until Britain and Australia (which use or plan to use the Tomahawk), after close consultation with the U.S., are satisfied that this replacement will affordably offer them equivalent or superior capabilities to the Tomahawk."