My PoA Top Ten

The Ten Dumbest Things I Heard About Guns at the United Nations, Forbes, June 28, 2018. "In theory, the purpose of the PoA — which is a political instrument, not a treaty — is to encourage cooperation on the illicit international trade in small arms. If the PoA stuck to this, it might be modestly useful. It can only be modestly useful because far too many nations at the U.N. don’t right now have the ability, or the desire, to do the basic things they have repeatedly committed to do."

Yes, Get Out of the Human Rights Council

U.S Right to Quit Human Rights Panel, Newsday, June 24, 2018. "The UN Human Rights Council is a disgrace. No democracy should listen to the council, much less participate in it. The Trump administration’s decision to quit this rotten body was not merely right. It embodies the way we should treat failed international institutions."

What A Waste of Time

I’m Sitting Through One of the UN’s Most Useless Conferences. Here’s What’s Happening, Daily Signal, June 23, 2018. "or this week and the next, the United Nations is hosting a conference of its Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects—fortunately abbreviated as the PoA. Like the U.N. Human Rights Council, the PoA is a classic U.N. institution: It’s a good idea in theory, but a terrible failure in practice."

Brexit Becomes Law

Yes, Brexit Will Happen. And It Will Work, Daily Signal, June 22, 2018. "The past week has seen big, and potentially confusing, events in Great Britain’s struggle to Brexit—to regain its national independence from the European Union. As we reach the second anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which took place on June 23, 2016, here’s what has happened."

Weaponizing Interpol

Palestinians Use Interpol As A Weapon of War, Fox News, June 16, 2018. "Should the Palestinian Authority (PA) be able to use an international organization like Interpol as a weapon in its internal fights between factions? The question seems absurd. Yet it is exactly what the PA and its bombastic president, Mahmoud Abbas, are now trying to do."

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three . . .

Do You Want Your Voice In Interpol’s Database?, Forbes, June 13, 2018. "In my last post, I pointed out that one lesson of Bill Browder's arrest in Spain last month is that the little-known system of Interpol alerts known as "diffusions" is badly in need of reform. But it’s not just the diffusion system that needs reform. We badly need a way to protect Americans — and others — from the abusive use of the Interpol system. My latest paper on Interpol proposes creating a “white list” of victims of abuse. Browder is certainly one such victim."

Answering Questions on the Browder Arrest

How Could Bill Browder Be Arrested?, Forbes, June 13, 2018. "Late last month, I analyzed Bill Browder’s brief arrest in Spain, arguing that it was likely the result of a Spanish bungle, not a new Interpol action taken at Russia’s request. This assessment has since been supported by journalists and by former Secretary-General of Interpol Ron Noble (in a tweet that Mr. Noble later deleted, perhaps after recalling that I have been one of his more severe critics). But precisely because it seems to — indeed, does — point to larger problems, the arrest has occasioned a lot of subtle politicking, which I want to call out for the sake of the unwary."

It's Expired and Gone to Meet Its Maker

Will Italy Be The Next European Domino?, Newsday, June 10, 2018. "Eight years ago, the euro and the European Union were rocked by the near-collapse of Greek finances. Since then, migrants and Russia have crowded Europe’s banks from the headlines. But as events in Italy over the past two weeks have shown, the European peril is not dead. It is only resting."

LOST at Sea

7 Reasons U.S. Should Not Ratify UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, with Brett Schaeffer and James Carafano, Heritage Foundation Commentary, June 4, 2018. "U.S. accession would provide no benefits not already available to the U.S., while creating unnecessary burdens and risks. Heritage Foundation research linked below addresses these points clearly and unequivocally."

The Background to Spain's Arrest of Browder

Why Was Bill Browder Arrested in Spain?, Forbes, May 31, 2018. "Bill Browder, the well-known author of Red Notice, energetic opponent of Russian corruption, and progenitor of the Magnitsky Act, was briefly arrested in Spain yesterday morning. The circumstances of his arrest are “murky,” but here’s what I believe happened."

The Ups and Downs of Firearms Export Control Reforms

The Good and the Bad of Reforms to Firearms Export Controls, Forbes, May 29, 2018. "In my last column, I summarized the origin of the proposed changes to the export controls on firearms, ammunition, and related materials, and dismissed some of the criticisms of these reforms as based on ignorance of how the system will work -- or on the presumption that if the Trump administration is doing it, it must be bad. In this column, I'll look at the up- and downsides of the proposed reforms."

The Background to ITAR 1-3 Reform

Trump Administration’s Proposed Reforms to Firearms Export Controls Are Good – Mostly, Forbes, May 29, 2018. "On May 24, 2018, the Federal Register's website officially posted proposed reforms to the export controls on firearms and some related items. By and large, the reforms are sensible and welcome — but the 45 day comment period that begins today is also welcome, because not everything in the new rules is on point. In this two part series, I’ll explain the background of the proposed reforms, and then look at their up and down sides."

Impose Costs

Will Trump’s Iran Strategy Work?, Newsday, May 26, 2018. "In his first major policy speech as secretary of state — delivered Monday at the Heritage Foundation — Mike Pompeo set out the Trump administration’s Iran strategy. It’s heartening that the United States has a plan: ditching the nuclear deal is well and good, but it’s not a strategy. But is the plan a good one?"

The U.S. Goal Is to Ensure the PoA Continues To Do Nothing

U.S. Goals at the 2018 Review Conference of the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3313, May 14, 2018. "The U.N.’s Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) is a political mechanism, which works by unanimous consensus for encouraging voluntary cooperation against the illicit small-arms trade. It is a substantive failure, but that is unlikely to stop the PoA’s forthcoming Third Review Conference from seeking to expand the PoA in unproductive ways—including by advocating an unworkable plan for the registry of individual rounds of ammunition and supporting new technical requirements for civilian firearms. If the U.S. continues to participate in the PoA, it should send a strong delegation to the Conference to effectively oppose these ideas. Likewise, the U.S. should staunchly reject all efforts to transform the PoA into a treaty and not be taken in by Trojan Horse strategies designed to impose constraining international norms on the U.S."

Unsign, Already

Key Goals for the United States at the 2018 Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Issue Brief #4842, May 14, 2018. "The fourth annual Conference of States Parties to the ATT (CSP4) will be held in Japan from August 20–24, 2018. Because the ATT is not in the interests of the United States, the Administration should “unsign” the ATT. It should attend CSP4 as an observer state—with the goal of opposing any expansion of the ATT or its Secretariat."

The Power of the Executive . . .

The Other Problem with the Iran Nuclear Deal, Newsday, May 11, 2018. "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear deal, is history — at least as far as the United States is concerned. That’s both a good thing and a bad one."

U.S. Responses to Palestinian Membership of Interpol

How the United States Should Respond to Palestinian Membership in Interpol, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, May 1, 2018. " SUMMARY The Interpol General Assembly’s September 2017 decision to admit the Palestinian Authority to membership was a grave error. The Authority will likely use its membership both to pursue its political and legal war against Israel and to harass opponents abroad. The PA’s membership further debases Interpol, an international organization of police and law enforcement organizations that is constitutionally required to focus exclusively on ordinary crime. It also reflects awareness by autocracies that Interpol can be a valuable instrument of oppression and that the Western democracies’ historically dominant role in Interpol is fading. The U.S. and other like-minded nations should limit the damage that the Authority can do through Interpol and develop a strategy to resist the organization’s wider politicization."

Selfishness and Self-Righteousness

Not All U.S. Allies Are Created Equal, Newsday, April 29, 2018. "Everyone, including President Donald Trump, likes French President Emmanuel Macron. He’s the first foreign leader Trump hosted for a state visit. And at least France’s policies — unlike Germany’s, whose chancellor, Angela Merkel, arrived on Friday for her visit — are gloriously selfish."

Bombs Away . . . .

Damn, Busted, Weekly Standard, April 27, 2018. "As a nation, Brexit Britain is stepping out of the shadow of the EU. But as a military power, it’s stepped into the shade."

The Inoculation Effect

Why Syria Felt Emboldened to Use Deadly Gas, Newsday, April 15, 2018. "Despite their fearsome reputation, most weapons of mass destruction — even the conventional ones — are not used often. Like a vaccine, their first use seems to inoculate the world against further uses. But in Syria — struck by Western missiles early Saturday — the inoculation effect against poison gas has been failing. And so is the U.S. policy that contributed to it."

What We All Got Wrong

So Many U.S. Delusions in Foreign Affairs, Newsday, April 1, 2018. "It’s a common lament that politics don’t stop at the water’s edge. Foreign policy, the argument goes, should be run on the basis of national interest, not party politics. But in reality, U.S. administrations of all colors have a lot of beliefs in common. Unfortunately, all too often, they believe in illusions."

As Bad As We Wanna Be

We Are Only As Powerless As We Want To Be, Newsday, March 20, 2018. "Isn’t it time to give this nonsense about not wanting a new Cold War a rest? This is a new Cold War. And isn’t it time for us to stop confessing our own powerlessness? The West isn’t powerless."

It's the European Commission

The Problem with Brexit Isn’t Britain, National Review Online, March 6, 2018. "Several decades of studying Britain’s relations with the European Union and its predecessor organizations have left me pessimistic about the U.K.’s ability to secure exit from the E.U. on the terms that appear clearly to be in everyone’s best interests. And a few days in Brussels have led me to conclude that the prospect of a negotiated exit is growing more remote."

How Brexit Opens the Way for a US-UK FTA

How Brexit Opens Up a Path for a US-UK Free Trade Area, Daily Signal, March 5, 2018. "Last week, I was in Brussels to help launch a new report on financial services in Britain and the European Union after Brexit. During that time, we inched a bit closer to the creation of a free trade area between the U.S. and Britain—and I learned a bit about why the EU is standing in the way."

New Democrats, New Dangers

Obama’s Ugly Legacy in the Mideast, Newsday, March 4, 2018. "The war in Syria was like a stone thrown into a lake. The initial splash has subsided, but the waves are spreading throughout the region. Where the waves meet the shores of the lake, they splash again into new wars. The wars of the Persian Gulf, the Kurds, and Israel are beginning."