President Obama has been stumbling on the economy, and this week he added more proof of his weakness on foreign policy. He told a popular Miami TV station that Venezuela’s aggressive President Hugo Chavez “has not had a serious national security impact on us.” Chavez certainly doesn’t reciprocate Obama’s gentle …
On Wednesday morning, nongovernmental organizations made presentations to the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference. Heritage’s Ted R. Bromund, senior research fellow in Anglo-American relations in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, spoke as follows: Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to offer written remarks to be placed in …
In an interview with a popular Miami TV station, President Obama was asked yesterday about the danger Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez poses to U.S. security. The President responded: “My sense is that what Mr. Chavez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact …
Missing (as usual) from discussions of the Millennium Development Goals after the recent release of its 2012 report is any talk of the impressive role the private sector has played in promoting more cost-effective and sustainable development in recent years. Thus far, financial inclusion mostly encompasses microcredit (small loans to …
Rare earths and other strategic minerals are front and center again, with a bill being brought to the House floor this week. When Members of Congress consider “critical” materials, they should bear in mind that the materials aren’t actually critical and that government should therefore play a very limited role. …
The ongoing crisis in Mali, a poor, landlocked country in northern Africa, continues to sow devastation and displacement. Mali’s current troubles began in earnest following the 2011 fall of Libyan tyrant Muammar Qadhafi. Armed mercenary fighters from Mali in Qadhafi’s employ, mostly ethnic Tuaregs (Berber nomadic tribes), returned to northern …
Here are a few notable events and themes that caught my eye during my first week at the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) conference: The totalitarian states are deviously brilliant. Their representatives have been around for years, so they know everyone, and they know the drill. They waste time expertly …
Amid the lawless bloodbath that is Somalia, the northern state of Somaliland remains a rare example of functioning democracy in the Muslim world. Unlike the rest of Somalia, Somaliland has maintained relative stability and peace despite occasional border conflicts with the semi-autonomous Somali province of Puntland. Since its unilateral referendum …
