Cowling Redux

Fearful Levity, review of Robert Crowcroft, The End is Nigh: British Politics, Power, and the Road to the Second World War, Finest Hour, Number 184, Spring 2019.

A Tail Is Not A Leg

Debate: Is An EU Army Possible?, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, May 20, 2019. "In 1862, Abraham Lincoln asked, “If I should call a sheep’s tail a leg, how many legs would it have?” His wise answer: the sheep still has only four legs, “for my calling the tail a leg would not make it so.” So yes, Europe can have an army. But calling a thing an army does not make it one."

Step One . . .

Want Populism? Here’s How to Get It, Newsday, May 12, 2019. "Earlier this month, Britain went to the polls in local elections. So far, it’s been immune to the electoral turmoil that has affected Europe from Greece to France. But not this time. The British elections show that a simple way to create a political disaster is for the major parties to not keep their word."

The Facts of the Special Relationship

Pompeo Sends the Message Britain Needs to Hear, Daily Signal, May 9, 2019. "The essence of Pompeo’s remarks was that Britain is a great and global power, with which the United States enjoys a special relationship—and that it needs to remember that. Throughout, the secretary was careful not to fall into the trap of telling Britain what to do. Instead, he reminded it of its strengths, its interests, and its friends, and left Britain to draw the correct conclusions."

Neither the Power Nor the Glory

The End Of The Arms Trade Treaty, An End To Illusion, Forbes, May 7, 2019. "The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which President Donald Trump announced on April 26 that he would unsigned, is fundamentally unserious. It embodies the fantasy that the path to a better world rests in the piling up of unverifiable promises. Its illusions are a distraction from the problem it purportedly seeks to solve."

Seventh Time Lucky? Not Likely.

Russia Requests Interpol Action on Bill Browder, For Seventh Time, Forbes, April 30, 2019. "arlier this month the Russian Federation made its seventh request for action through Interpol against Bill Browder . The odds that Interpol will grant this request are very low, and the odds that Browder will actually be sent to Russia from his home in Britain are far lower. But the request nonetheless illustrates Russia’s assiduous efforts to abuse the Interpol system, and the need to take action to deter abuse."

I Told You So

Reflections on President Trump’s Unsigning of the Arms Trade Treaty, Forbes, April 30, 2019. "On Friday, President Trump announced that he will unsign the Arms Trade Treaty . The reactions tell you all you need to know about the treaty and its supporters. But to me, the biggest surprise — though it shouldn’t have been a surprise— was the way that the Treaty was assumed to be beyond criticism, and obviously a good thing, merely because it’s an example of multilateral diplomacy."

Well, I Like A US-UK FTA

Donald Trump Can Deliver Britain A Post-Brexit Trade Boost, with Michael Auslin, Financial Times, April 29, 2019. "While the world waits to see if the US and China can call a truce in their tariff war, President Donald Trump is quietly making potentially major trade moves with the UK and Japan. Halfway through his term, Mr Trump may finally begin to make good on his oft-repeated goal of concluding bilateral fair trade pacts."

The Big and Bad Ones

Bad Ideas Led to Libya Civil War, Newsday, April 28, 2019. "In 2011, the United States led an intervention that deposed Libyan dictator, terrorist, and crackpot Muammar Gaddafi. Since then, U.S. and Western policy toward Libya has embodied every big, bad idea in our arsenal."

Time for a Victory Lap

Trump Just Ditched A UN Arms Treaty, and He Was Right to Do It, Heritage Daily Signal, April 26, 2019. "On Friday, at the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, President Donald Trump announced that he was un-signing the Arms Trade Treaty. As he put it, “The United Nations will soon receive a formal notice that America is rejecting this treaty.” He then pulled out a pen and, in front of the entire audience, signed a message asking the Senate to end its consideration of the treaty."

It's Not An Arrest Warrant

Challenging a Red Notice: What Immigration Attorneys Need to Know About INTERPOL [PDF], AILA Law Journal, volume 1, number 1, April 2019.

This was my 1000th piece at Heritage.

"The International Criminal Police Organization—officially ICPO-INTERPOL, commonly known simply as INTERPOL—plays an important role in international law enforcement, and its publications are often used in U.S. immigration and asylum cases. But neither INTERPOL nor its publications, such as its famous “Red Notice,” are well understood. This can lead attorneys to fail to appropriately challenge Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or immigration judge (IJ) assertions about INTERPOL that are often incorrect. For example, too often IJs uncritically defer to INTERPOL publications in their decisions, resulting in extended detention time or denials of bonds and other requests for immigration benefits, and in general causing serious damage to an individual’s U.S. immigration case."

Is London Ready for It?

Trump’s State Visit to UK Part of Observances of D-Day Anniversary, Heritage Daily Signal, April 24, 2019. "The White House announced Tuesday that it has accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to make a state visit to the United Kingdom."

Second Time A Tragedy (Like the First)

Second Arab Spring? Not Quite, Newsday, April 14, 2019. "There is a second Arab Spring in the air in North Africa. In Algeria and Sudan, two of the most miserably repressive dictators on the African continent have fallen to popular protests. That sounds hopeful — but we know the catastrophes the first Arab Spring brought after 2011. The second Spring promises worse."

Another Constitution Bites the Dust

More Brexit Vs. Remain, Washington Times, April 1, 2019. "Contrary to popular myth, Britain does have a constitution. Unlike the American one, it’s not written down in one place. But Britain has Magna Carta, the 1628 Petition of Right, and the 1689 Bill of Rights. It also has centuries of precedent governing how business in Parliament is to be done. And Brexit’s opponents are trashing that constitution."

Dribbling Off Their Foot

Brits Have Their Own March Madness, Newsday, March 31, 2019. "In the NCAA basketball tournament, all but one team lose. In Britain, as the House of Commons votes and votes again on Brexit, having even one winner would be a novelty. The difference is that on the basketball court, unlike in Britain, the competition isn't between illusions."

Interpol's Fundamental Flaw

Interpol CCF’s Latest Annual Report Highlights Fundamental Flaw in the System, Forbes, March 31, 2019. "The Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), which is responsible for insuring that Interpol complies with its own rules, has published its annual report on its activities in 2017. Though any report is better than none, the report disappointingly fails to provide full transparency on the CCF’s activities by not identifying the nations that are actually responsible for requesting Red Notices that are later deleted for not complying with Interpol’s rules. That said, the report does make it clear that Interpol’s system has a fundamental flaw that allows nations to repeatedly abuse the rules."

The ATF Gets Worse Under Trump

Why Is the ATF Making Secret Rules for the Firearms Industry?, "Anyone who says that the firearms industry just hates the ATF because the ATF is reining in the cowboys by private letter is, frankly, ignorant. The firearms industry is already one of the most heavily-regulated in the United States. Anyone who works in this industry and doesn’t follow the rules can get in big trouble very quickly. What the firearms industry wants is for ATF policies and interpretations to be open and transparent so as to promote an even playing field."

Cheney v. Pence

Trump’s Right: Allies Need To Do More, Newsday, March 17, 2019. "Former Vice President Richard Cheney and current Vice President Mike Pence had an argument last week. It revolved around a major theme in the Trump administration’s foreign policy: that U.S. allies should pay more of the costs of the American security guarantee."

Just Rip It Off Already!

Britain’s Brexit Delay is Ridiculous, Washington Times, March 15, 2019. "Britain’s House of Commons has voted to request a delay in Britain’s exit from the European Union. It’s like a kid who removes a band-aid slowly hoping it’ll hurt less. Far better to rip it off and be done with it."

Walking Away -- The Right Call

Trump’s Successful North Korea Summit, Newsday, March 3, 2019. "The collapse of the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is being treated by many as a failure. In fact, the summit was a failure only if you believe that arriving at a bad agreement is the definition of success."

How Much Do We Pay Together?

How Large is the Democratic World's Financial Contribution to Interpol?, Forbes, February 28, 2019. "t seems likely that, given the size of the Foundation’s gifts (which amount to 5.74% of Interpol’s total revenue in 2017), the democratic share is less than their 84.15% share of the assessed contributions. A reasonable estimate is that the democracies are responsible for between 75% and 80% of Interpol’s funding , and that UAE controls the single largest non-democratic share (about 3.5 times larger than China’s contributions)."

How Much Do We Pay?

How Large Is the U.S. Budgetary Contribution to Interpol, Forbes, February 28, 2019. "All told, therefore, U.S. payments to Interpol likely amount annually to around 17 million Euros, or $19 million. That is around 15.5 percent of Interpol’s total operating expenses, which seems a reasonable estimate of the share of Interpol’s budget paid by the U.S."

Competition, the Reality

In the Left’s World, It’s All About Us, Newsday, February 17, 2019. "On Wednesday, the House of Representatives made a rare use of the War Powers Act by voting 248 to 177 to cut off U.S. military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Yet again, the left has refused to recognize that international relations are fundamentally competitive."

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."

At Your Throat or At Your Knees

Europeans Forgive the Russians, Again, Newsday, February 3, 2019. "In recent years, Germany has often been lauded as a heroic defender of the free world. As former Obama speechwriter Ben Rhodes relates, President Barack Obama said goodbye to Chancellor Angela Merkel with a sad “She’s all alone.” But Germany is not alone. It is trying to cut deals with Russia. Russia is far more popular in Germany than Obama’s whimper implied."