A Chilling Effect

Don't Get the Word Out, Contentions, December 4, 2009. "It’s commonly believed that, compared with other countries, the U.S. enjoys an exceptional measure of freedom of the press and, closely allied to it, exceptionally liberal libel laws. The comparison with Britain is particularly marked, and the Index on Censorship and English PEN have launched a libel-reform campaign that describes British libel law as “a global disgrace” and refers glowingly to American freedoms."

Where's the Corruption in British Politics?

British Corruption, Contentions, November 24, 2009. "Britain has fallen a notch in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruptions Perceptions Index. It now ranks 17th out of the 180 countries surveyed. Transparency said that the decline 'reflects the damage to its international standing caused by the MPs’ expenses scandal and the weakness of its efforts to prosecute foreign bribery.' "

On Strykers, Humvees, and Helicopters

Don't Blame the Tools, Contentions, November 20, 2009. "Stuart Koehl has an excellent piece up at the Weekly Standard on a Washington Post article that characterized the Army’s Stryker combat vehicle as a “kevlar coffin.” Koehl’s not an unmitigated supporter of the Stryker, but his main point is that criticism of the Stryker’s ability to protect infantry in Afghanistan is misinformed in ways both obvious and subtle."

Britain, Pakistan, Terror, and Assimilation

The Pakistan-Britain Terror Connection: Lessons and Warnings for the United States, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2337, November 6, 2009, co-authored with Lisa Curtis. "The Pakistan-Britain terror connection poses a serious threat to Great Britain and its allies, including the United States. Breaking the personnel, financial, and ideological links will require fighting terrorism on three fronts: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Britain. In Afghanistan, the U.S., the U.K., and their allies need to continue to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda. They should also hold Pakistan accountable for its failure to act decisively against terrorism. In Britain, the government needs to enforce the tightened immigration and asylum practices, refuse to cooperate with radical Islamism, and promote citizenship and economic opportunity to help immigrants assimilate into British society."

A New UN Arms Control Resolution, (Almost) As Bad As Before

U.S. Policy on Conventional Arms Control Departs Reality, Heritage Foundation Foundry, November 4, 2009. "On October 30, the United States voted with the majority in the General Assembly to support U.N.-sponsored negotiations to regulate the conventional arms trade. The vote was 153-1, with the pariah state of Zimbabwe the lone hold out. More significantly, some of the world’s more ethically challenged arms traders – the states of China, Russia, Iran, Syria, India, Pakistan, and Cuba – abstained in the vote."

The Diplomacy of Solipcism

Time for Action, Not Words, Mr. President, Yorkshire Post, November 4, 2009. "What, in the year since he was elected, has Barack Obama actually done? Making speeches doesn't count. It's certainly part of the President's job to make them, and he's not disappointed. According to CBS News, in mid-July – and less than six months after his inauguration – he gave his 200th speech, and, if anything, the pace has only accelerated since then. But it's a cardinal error to mistake giving speeches for getting things done." This op-ed was written in my personal capacity.

On Surveillance and Border Control

More on Britain's 'Police State', Contentions, October 28, 2009. "Anthony Sacramone, working from a New York Times report, is tolerably severe about the rise of domestic surveillance in Britain. As always, the Times is late to the party. The House of Lords Constitution Committee issued a lengthy report on this subject in January, following on five years of discussion about the rise of the “surveillance society” in Britain."

Example #5: Why the U.N.'s Arms Trade Treaty Is a Bad Idea

Another Day, Another Arms-Trade Scandal, Another Excuse for a Treaty, Contentions, October 28, 2009. "The story by now should be wearily familiar. Last week France was caught supplying arms to the dictatorial regime in Guinea, which then used them to brutally suppress protesters. This time, it’s Britain. Amnesty International UK asserts that Guinea also used a Mamba armored personnel-carrier that it bought from a South African subsidiary of a UK-based company. Amnesty International UK’s arms programme director, Oliver Sprague, followed with the predictable call . . . ."

The Gray Procurement Report and Labour Defense Cuts

Armed Forces May Count the Cost of Cutbacks on Defence, Yorkshire Post, October 28, 2009. "The publication of Bernard Gray's much-leaked report on defence procurement gives all the parties a vital chance to commit to spending plans and sensible reforms that will protect the future of Britain's armed forces."

Data on Islamist Terrorist Plots in Great Britain

Islamist Terrorist Plots in Great Britain: Uncovering the Global Network, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #2329, with Morgan Roach, October 26, 2009. "Individuals who traveled in Pakistan and received terrorist training there or in Afghanistan are a central part of the challenge of Islamist terrorism in Britain. Because al-Qaeda’s strategy relies partly on using European nationals to carry out attacks against the United States, the rise of Islamist terrorism in Britain and Europe poses a serious danger to the U.S. and its allies in Europe and around the world."

Example #4: Why the U.N.'s Arms Trade Treaty Is a Bad Idea

The Sweet, Sweet Mirage of Consensus, Contentions, October 21, 2009. "Late last week, the Obama administration did what I feared it would do: It endorsed the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty negotiations. The goal is to craft a treaty negotiated and ready for signature by 2012 that would impose standards on the entire conventional arms trade. The projected treaty’s scope is vast."

Another Bad Arms Control Decision

The Administration Gets It Wrong on Arms Control, Again, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 16, 2009. "On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. would seek a “strong international standard” in the control of the conventional arms trade by “seizing the opportunity presented by the Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations.” But the participation comes with a caveat: the U.S. will actively support negotiations only if the conference “operates under the rule of consensus decision-making needed to ensure that all countries can be held to standards that will actually improve the global situation.” "

Why Consensus Won't Help the Arms Trade Treaty

The Obama Administration Makes the Wrong Call on the U.N.'s Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #2653, October 15, 2009. "On October 14, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the United States would seek a “strong international standard” in the control of the conventional arms trade by “seizing the opportunity presented by the Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations.” Her announcement contained an important caveat: The U.S. will only actively support negotiations if the conference “operates under the rule of consensus decision-making needed to ensure that all countries can be held to standards that will actually improve the global situation.” This caveat has been attacked by NGOs supporting the treaty process. The Administration’s decision to participate on the basis of consensus is wrong."

A Libyan Redux?

Was Qaddafi Paid Off?, Contentions, October 13, 2009. "No, I’m not talking about the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, though some very stinging questions have been raised about just how, exactly, the release was related to BP’s negotiation with Libya about an oil exploration deal. I’m talking about the 1970s."

What's Wrong in Helmand

The ISW on the War in Helmand, Contentions, October 9, 2009. "The Institute for the Study of War has released an outstanding report by Jeffrey Dressler on “Securing Helmand: Understanding and Responding to the Enemy.” The report surveys the province, the enemy, the Taliban’s campaign plan, the British experience in Helmand, and the recent ISAF operations in it. It also contains some excellent maps. There is too much in the report to summarize: anyone interested in the war should read it in full. But it makes three points that are of particular interest to those, like myself, who have followed Britain’s contribution to the war."

Divinity School Gone Wild

Sometimes, A Watermelon is Just a Watermelon. Not So At Yale, Contentions, October 9, 2009. "The following message, which I reproduce in its entirety, was forwarded to me in my capacity as a Yale alum by a friend at Yale’s Divinity School. I am assured that it is not a parody. Any other comment is superfluous."

Why A British Debate's A Bad Idea

British Politics Will Be the Big Loser if Leaders go Head to Head in TV Debate, Yorkshire Post, October 5, 2009. "David Cameron wants to have a debate. Nick Clegg wants one, too. Gordon Brown did not, but has now changed his mind. This only makes him look weak. Every time Number 10 mentions the issue, it recalls the indecision of the 2007 General Election that never was. Brown's reluctance is rational. He does not have the kind of record as Prime Minister that any politician would want to defend in an unscripted debate. He has taken his party through a staggering local election defeat, suffered resignation after resignation, and wasted billions of pounds of public money. After 12 years in power, Labour has run out of excuses. Participating in a debate is no way to find a new one. But yet, there is something in the media's enthusiasm for a debate that does not sit well." This op-ed was written in my personal capacity.

If At First You Don't Succeed, Vote, Vote Again

Vote Until You Get It Right: Ireland and the E.U., Redux, New Ledger, October 1, 2009. "The European Union Constitution, now gussied up as the Lisbon Treaty, is a remarkable document. Napoleon famously remarked that constitutions should be short and obscure. On that count, the Constitution scores one out of two: it is not short, but it is definitely obscure. What Napoleon curiously failed to appreciate was that length, if carried on for long enough, has an obscurity all its own. At 246 pages in its original form, and a svelte 248 pages as the Lisbon Treaty, the Constitution achieves a comprehensive triumph over comprehensibility."

Should We Want the Games?

Obama's Olympic Audience, Heritage Foundation Foundry, October 1, 2009. "Today, President Obama flies to Copenhagen to lobby the International Olympic Committee to award the 2016 Summer Games to Chicago. So we know that President Obama wants the Olympics. But do the Olympics want the United States?"

The IOC on 9/11

The IOC on 9/11, Contentions, September 30, 2009. "Does President Obama’s trip to Copenhagen tomorrow to lobby for Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics mean that victory is in the bag for the Windy City? Ramesh Ponnuru, for one, believes so, and quite a few others have echoed his thought that the president would hardly dare to go—especially after he said on September 14 that he was too busy to make the trip—and risk looking foolish if Chicago lost. They may be right, but my take is a little different."

Margaret Thatcher and "A Real Detente"

How Margaret Thatcher Helped to End the Cold War, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #2631, September 28, 2009. "When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, many in the West had come to believe that the Cold War could not and should not be won, that anti-Communism was morally wrong, and that the future lay in détente between the superpowers and the evolution of democracy into ever-deepening state socialism. By the time she left office, the Berlin Wall had fallen and Eastern Europe was liberated. A year later, the Soviet Union crumbled into the dustbin of history. Democracy and freedom were on the advance."

Example #3: Why the U.N.'s Arms Trade Treaty Is a Bad Idea

Why the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty Won’t Work, September 18, 2009. "The U.N. wants to negotiate an Arms Trade Treaty. The Heritage Foundation recently published a lengthy study of this proposal. It found that the Treaty, if brought into being as currently projected, will be used not to restrict the access that dictators and terrorists have to conventional arms, but to reduce the ability of democracies like Israel to defend their people against terrorism. This week brought further evidence of the U.N.’s impending failure."

Dr. Liam Fox MP and the UK's NSS

Dr. Liam Fox MP on Afghanistan, Contentions, September 18, 2009. "Liam Fox, the Tory Shadow Defense Secretary, spoke at the Heritage Foundation yesterday. His admirably concise remarks on the “The War in Afghanistan: Why Britain, America and NATO Must Fight to Win” will be available online shortly. They’re well worth your time if you’re interested in Afghanistan, or what the Conservatives are likely to do if they come to power in May, as all the polls indicate they will. The main takeaways are clear, and welcome."

The EU's Constitution, and the American One

Constitutions, Good and Bad, Contentions, September 18, 2009. "The U.S. Constitution was signed 222 years ago yesterday. But for all the reverence with which the Constitution is treated, Constitution Day isn’t one of the higher-visibility federal holidays. Perhaps that’s because, for most Americans, holidays are days on which you don’t have to go to work. Or perhaps it’s because, until 2004, the day was known—to the few who had heard of it—as Citizenship Day."

Why Obama's Losing the Argument

Obama is Losing the Argument Because He’s Being Himself, Yorkshire Post, September 15, 2009. This article was published in my personal capacity. "Barack Obama has hit the skids. Most of his programmes remain stalled in Congress, and what little he has achieved has turned out to be unpopular. Abroad, his supposedly immense influence has not brought moderation to Iran, peace to Afghanistan, or sanity to the Scottish Executive." This op-ed was written in my personal capacity.