President Trump’s announcement that he plans to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is worrying news for U.S.-Russian relations and for the prospect of effective arms control moving forward.
The INF Treaty was negotiated by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Each party agreed to eliminate their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km. It was a quite successful arms control agreement, at least until recently. In the last few years, Moscow has tested and deployed cruise missiles that appear to violate INF limits.
This is the Trump administration’s rationale for terminating the agreement. And the reasoning has a powerful logic. If Russia isn’t going to fully comply with the treaty, why should the United States?
The problem is that simply withdrawing is the most extreme option available and robs us of viable diplomatic solutions while doing nothing to pressure Russia to get back into compliance. Indeed, terminating the agreement is probably the option most likely to generate a new arms race.
It is worth noting that the Russians claim we cheated first by deploying missile defense systems in Europe that, if used offensively, would violate the terms of the INF treaty. It’s a debatable accusation, but this mutual suspicion is resolvable over the negotiating table. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has barely made an effort to discuss it with Moscow.
Instead of pressuring Moscow to bring itself back into compliance with the treaty, Trump’s planned withdrawal – along with not-so-subtle hints that the administration plans to ramp up production of just the type of missiles the INF prohibits − merely gives the greenlight to Russia to expand their own capabilities in this area.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/terminating-inf-treaty-makes-no-sense
2018-11-05
Cato: The Jones Act Isn’t Working. Just Ask Its Supporters.
Although the Jones Act’s stated purpose is to ensure that the United States “shall have a merchant marine of the best equipped and most suitable types of vessels sufficient to carry the greater portion of its commerce and serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency,” this plainly isn’t the case. But don’t take my word for it, just listen to ardent backers of the law such as Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA):
"Our military relies on privately-owned sealift capacity and highly trained and credentialed merchant mariners to transport and sustain our armed forces when deployed overseas during times of conflict. But the number of ocean-going U.S.-flag vessels has dropped from 249 in the 1980s, to 106 in 2012, to at most 81 today.
The consequences of this steep decline are not just theoretical. Our military has had to turn to foreign-flagged vessels for sustainment in times of war, and experience shows that can have dangerous consequences. In the 1991 Gulf War, our armed forces relied on 192 foreign-flagged ships to carry cargo to the war zone. The foreign crews on thirteen vessels mutinied, forcing those ships to abandon their military mission. Would foreign flag carriers be any more reliable today, especially for a long-term deployment into active war zones?
But the number of ships is not the only issue: The U.S. Transportation Command and Federal Maritime Administration estimate that our country is now at least 1,800 mariners short of the minimum required for adequate military sealift, even with the Jones Act firmly in place. Without the Jones Act, our nation would be wholly unprepared to meet the labor demands of rapid, large-scale force projection for national security."
The House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee’s ranking member is absolutely correct about the sad state of the U.S. merchant fleet. Some of his numbers, however, are off the mark. The drop in the number of ocean-going U.S.-flag vessels is even more dramatic than what he states, declining from 737 in 1985 to a current figure of 180. Regarding the 1991 Gulf War, meanwhile, the actual number of foreign-flagged ships used as part of the U.S. sealift was 177 rather than 192. It’s also inaccurate to say that thirteen vessels were forced to abandon their military mission, with eight of those vessels ultimately delivering their cargo after initial hesitations.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/jones-act-isnt-working-just-ask-its-supporters
"Our military relies on privately-owned sealift capacity and highly trained and credentialed merchant mariners to transport and sustain our armed forces when deployed overseas during times of conflict. But the number of ocean-going U.S.-flag vessels has dropped from 249 in the 1980s, to 106 in 2012, to at most 81 today.
The consequences of this steep decline are not just theoretical. Our military has had to turn to foreign-flagged vessels for sustainment in times of war, and experience shows that can have dangerous consequences. In the 1991 Gulf War, our armed forces relied on 192 foreign-flagged ships to carry cargo to the war zone. The foreign crews on thirteen vessels mutinied, forcing those ships to abandon their military mission. Would foreign flag carriers be any more reliable today, especially for a long-term deployment into active war zones?
But the number of ships is not the only issue: The U.S. Transportation Command and Federal Maritime Administration estimate that our country is now at least 1,800 mariners short of the minimum required for adequate military sealift, even with the Jones Act firmly in place. Without the Jones Act, our nation would be wholly unprepared to meet the labor demands of rapid, large-scale force projection for national security."
The House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee’s ranking member is absolutely correct about the sad state of the U.S. merchant fleet. Some of his numbers, however, are off the mark. The drop in the number of ocean-going U.S.-flag vessels is even more dramatic than what he states, declining from 737 in 1985 to a current figure of 180. Regarding the 1991 Gulf War, meanwhile, the actual number of foreign-flagged ships used as part of the U.S. sealift was 177 rather than 192. It’s also inaccurate to say that thirteen vessels were forced to abandon their military mission, with eight of those vessels ultimately delivering their cargo after initial hesitations.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/jones-act-isnt-working-just-ask-its-supporters
2018-11-02
Cato: Let’s Face It: US Policy in the Middle East Has Failed
The ongoing controversy surrounding the murder of a dissident Saudi journalist and Saudi Arabia’s brutal bombing campaign of a largely defenseless neighboring Yemen, which has come with an enormous human toll, have elicited increased scrutiny over the U.S.-Saudi alliance. The White House remains supportive of Riyadh, both diplomatically and with continued military aid. Republicans have offered mildly critical words for the Saudi regime, while an increasing number of Democrats are calling for a fundamental reassessment of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
Such a reassessment is long overdue. Washington’s partnership with Riyadh has often been treated as sacrosanct, at least here in the nation’s capital. It should have been clear long ago that the Saudis are not good allies. In fact, they often act in ways that undermine U.S. interests. Backing one of the world’s most appallingly tyrannical regimes to the hilt has actually not been a net positive for U.S. national security or for stability in the region.
With any luck, the unfolding drama over the U.S.-Saudi partnership will extend beyond merely this troubled bilateral relationship to U.S. policy in the Middle East as a whole. The United States is deeply entangled in this region, with roughly 50,000 boots on the ground, dozens of permanent military bases and deployed assets, and a staggering sum of taxpayer dollars, essentially wasted. We are engaged in active combat operations in at least five countries across the Middle East and North Africa, bogged down in endless counter-insurgency campaigns, grisly counter-terrorism operations, and inglorious proxy wars. Washington also tasks Central Command with the responsibility of supporting, training, arming, and stabilizing various corrupt dictatorships, while we also try to put the squeeze on Iran.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/lets-face-it-us-policy-middle-east-has-failed
Such a reassessment is long overdue. Washington’s partnership with Riyadh has often been treated as sacrosanct, at least here in the nation’s capital. It should have been clear long ago that the Saudis are not good allies. In fact, they often act in ways that undermine U.S. interests. Backing one of the world’s most appallingly tyrannical regimes to the hilt has actually not been a net positive for U.S. national security or for stability in the region.
With any luck, the unfolding drama over the U.S.-Saudi partnership will extend beyond merely this troubled bilateral relationship to U.S. policy in the Middle East as a whole. The United States is deeply entangled in this region, with roughly 50,000 boots on the ground, dozens of permanent military bases and deployed assets, and a staggering sum of taxpayer dollars, essentially wasted. We are engaged in active combat operations in at least five countries across the Middle East and North Africa, bogged down in endless counter-insurgency campaigns, grisly counter-terrorism operations, and inglorious proxy wars. Washington also tasks Central Command with the responsibility of supporting, training, arming, and stabilizing various corrupt dictatorships, while we also try to put the squeeze on Iran.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/lets-face-it-us-policy-middle-east-has-failed
2018-11-01
Cato: Nonviolent Felons Shouldn’t Lose Their Second Amendment Rights
In 1989, Larry Hatfield fudged his employment records to get some extra money from the Railroad Retirement Board. He was caught and pled guilty to the federal crime of making a false statement, and was sentenced to a fine and (at the government’s recommendation) no prison time. Since then, Hatfield has lived his life without incident, incurring nary as much as a parking ticket. He doesn’t fight, do drugs, or cause problems. Hatfield has lived as a completely law-abiding citizen for decades.
Hatfield’s neighborhood, however, has changed for the worst, so he wants to own a firearm to defend himself in his home. But the intersection of an odd federal law—18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)—and the ever-expanding idea of what a “felony” is has seen his right to keep and bear arms stripped away. That old conviction for lying to the Retirement Board now restricts his right to armed self-defense. While his conduct in 1989 was not upstanding, permanently stripping Hatfield of his core Second Amendment right seems an excessive punishment—one that puts the government in the interesting position of having argued that Hatfield is both so non-dangerous so as to have been recommended zero days in prison, but so dangerous that he can never be trusted with a gun.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/nonviolent-felons-shouldnt-lose-their-second-amendment-rights
Hatfield’s neighborhood, however, has changed for the worst, so he wants to own a firearm to defend himself in his home. But the intersection of an odd federal law—18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)—and the ever-expanding idea of what a “felony” is has seen his right to keep and bear arms stripped away. That old conviction for lying to the Retirement Board now restricts his right to armed self-defense. While his conduct in 1989 was not upstanding, permanently stripping Hatfield of his core Second Amendment right seems an excessive punishment—one that puts the government in the interesting position of having argued that Hatfield is both so non-dangerous so as to have been recommended zero days in prison, but so dangerous that he can never be trusted with a gun.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/nonviolent-felons-shouldnt-lose-their-second-amendment-rights
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)