It’s Round 2 in President Obama’s effort to get the U.S. Senate to agree to ratification of a major international treaty. Late last year, the President successfully pressed the Senate to ratify the New START treaty with Russia, which dealt with nuclear weapons. Now, it’s ramping up pressure on another treaty, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Back in May, then-Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg said the Obama Administration and Senator John Kerry (D–MA) were working to secure the necessary number of Senate votes …
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in town this week for a visit to the White House, where President Obama will present her with the Medal of Freedom. Her visit comes at a time when the United States and Germany are struggling to find common ground on a variety of issues. The two world leaders will have much to discuss besides the global economy, and neither should substitute style for substance. For starters, Merkel will need to explain why her government is pursing further cuts to Germany’s already small defense …
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s visit to China this week has again raised questions about the nature of their relationship. A recently leaked U.N. report described suspected ballistic missile technology exchanges between North Korea and Iran. The technology transited through an unnamed neighboring country, which several U.N. diplomats, under the condition of anonymity, have identified as China. Not surprisingly, China is apparently blocking the public release of that report.
In her testimony before Congress last month, Kathleen M. King, Director of Health Care at the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO), reported “improper payments” under the Medicare and Medicaid programs amounting to almost $70.5 billion for fiscal year 2010. According to the GAO, any payment was labeled “improper” if it “should not have been made or … was made in an incorrect amount.” If there were any question as to the immense size of America’s entitlement programs, this piece of news should be very illuminating. To put it in perspective, …
The Obama Administration’s explanations for why the U.S. intervened in Libya reveal a common, disconcerting theme: a reliance upon the relatively new idea of a “responsibility to protect” (R2P). In a letter to Congress, President Obama announced that Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi “has forfeited his responsibility to protect his own citizens.” And, in his speech to the nation explaining the military operations against Libya’s leader, he said “we have a responsibility to act.” Where does this idea come from? It appears to have gained prominence in a report commissioned by …
Critics of America’s traditional style of leadership seem to have once again adopted a narrative of America’s inevitable decline. Drawn-out wars, China’s rising influence, and a crushing national debt are seen as kryptonite to the world’s sole superpower. The challenges these issues pose to American influence in the world is daunting, but America’s decline is not a foregone conclusion, as Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes argued in a recent Washington Times piece. During Ronald Reagan’s military buildup in the 1980s, Paul Kennedy of Yale argued that the United States suffered …
In the midst of Congress’s roaring debate over budget cuts, Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz weighed in last week to decry any talk of cutting foreign aid in a letter he titled “Human Security Is National Security.” Civilian and humanitarian foreign aid, he argued, supports our national security interests and “reinforces our nation’s role as an international leader.” Schwartz compared President Obama’s desire to boost foreign aid to that of President Reagan, citing Reagan’s famous line describing America as a “shining city upon a hill.” Schwartz said Reagan understood …
The roaring debate over the budget has flooded Congress with proposals and counter-proposals aimed at lessening the gaping hole between federal revenues and expenses. Almost every part of the federal budget, including defense, has been targeted under various plans. But cutting defense spending doesn’t fix the problem. It doesn’t even come close. According to Heritage Foundation Vice President Kim Holmes, Congress could eliminate the entire Department of Defense budget and still have crushing debt in the future. The greatest slice of the federal budget goes to cover Medicare, Medicaid, and …
The last chapter of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule has come to a close. But, as Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes contends in yesterday’s Washington Times, change shouldn’t end with new elections or a restructured political system. Economic liberalization must be part and parcel of the greater reform process. The protesters in Tahrir Square aren’t looking for a Western-style democracy. A Pew poll taken in Egypt last year reveals that Egyptians generally prefer a democracy, but they also support vividly anti-Western, Islamist policies—such as executing Muslims who change religion …
In his State of the Union address to Congress, President Obama acknowledged the problems of massive deficit spending and mounting debt and offered a general plan that he said would restore fiscal health. It includes cuts to the defense budget. With two ongoing wars, numerous asymmetrical threats to our security, and the depleted state of our military, it’s appropriate for Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the new Congress to ask if this is prudent. In yesterday’s Washington Times, Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes considers what Ronald Reagan would do about …
