OP-EDS
AP Photo
April 5, 2010
"There is Nothing to Discuss on the Falklands' Sovereignty"
The Huffington Post
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"The fact that they are geographically closer to Argentina is of no consequence. Will the United States hand over Alaska to Russia which is famously visible from Sarah Palin's house as opposed to over 500 miles from the US mainland? Is the US going to give Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to the Dominican Republic? Are they going to give Hawaii to Japan? Texas and Florida to Mexico? Guam to the Philippines? American Samoa to New Zealand? What about Taiwan, should that be annexed by China?"
AP Photo
April 2, 2010
"To Heed President Obama's Call to Strengthen the EU, Britain Must First Have a Referendum on Whether to Stay in at All"
The Huffington Post
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"Over the last decade here, the political landscape has moved in a more Eurosceptic direction. Ten years ago, the ruling Labour party were considering joining the Euro, and the opposition Conservatives were split between Europhiles (as Euro-enthusiasts are called) and Eurosceptics. Now, there is no prospect of Britain joining the Euro in the medium-term, the Conservatives are both relatively united around euroscepticism and ahead in the polls, and more people are voting for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) — a party which campaigns for Britain to leave the EU — than ever before. In a few newspapers, the words 'EU', 'euro', and 'European' are practically insults."
AP Photo
April 1, 2010
"Pointing the Way to a Fairer Immigration System"
The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"The 'points system' applies to immigrants from outside the EU. The more skills you have, and the more those skills are in demand, the more likely you will be to be allowed to migrate to Britain. At the moment, politicians from the Home Office set the criteria for which skills are needed, and so who can come to the country. This leads to the possibility of politicians deciding our immigration rate based on partisan, media-driven concerns. It is similar to where we were in the mid-90s with interest rates: politicians could decide to keep rates low as a pre-election sweetener, even though it might not be right for the economy. In the same way this was solved by giving the Bank of England the power to set interest rates, the solution to the immigration conundrum is for the government to allow the Migration Advisory Committee to set the level of points needed. They should do so according to three criteria: the needs of the economy, the demand on public services and the desire to keep aggregate numbers below a politically decided maximum."
AP Photo
April 1, 2010
"Health Care Could Help Climate Bill"
Politico
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Climate policy should set us on a path to transform our energy supply. It should not be a deficit-reduction tool. This realization was evident in the White House's new budget, which no longer showed cap-and-trade revenues....Energy price volatility in the European carbon trading system sent shivers down the spines of American utilities and manufacturing sectors, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. So now Congress is discussing measures that aim to reduce volatility."
AP Photo
March 30, 2010
"The Euro Has Reason to Strengthen"
The Korea Herald
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"An American traveler in Paris or Berlin is continually struck by how high prices are relative to those in the United States. A hotel room, a simple lunch, or a man's shirt all cost more at today's exchange rate than they would in New York or Chicago. To bring the cost of those goods and services down to the level in the U.S. would require the euro to fall relative to the dollar by about 15 percent, to around $1.10," says Martin Feldstein.
AP Photo
March 24, 2010
"Why the Next Government Must Ring-fence Defence Spending"
conservativehome
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"[R]eal-terms cuts compromise our ability to combat unforeseen threats. Deciding defence funding based on only foreseeable threats is a dangerous mistake. The belief that spending on defence should be based only on foreseeable threats is the most dangerous kind of short-termism. Few of the wars Britain has ever engaged in, and none of the five wars since 1997, were foreseen. Nobody in 1981 expected to be fighting the Falklands war in 1982, nobody in 1989 expected to be fighting the Iraq war in 1990, and before the Second World War, Britain's low defence budget was justified on the basis that so long as a major conflict could not be envisaged within ten years, defence spending could be kept low. When the Second World War broke out, this short-sightedness nearly resulted in catastrophic defeat and caused Britain to need to borrow heavily from the United States, as defence spending shot up to 60% of GDP."
AP Photo
March 16, 2010
"MPs Weren't Brave Enough to Deserve a Medal"
politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"Even politically, the insensitivity is shocking. After all the evidence over the last year that MPs set themselves apart from those they represent when deciding how much they should be allowed to charge to the taxpayer, one would have thought that your average MP would have been on the lookout for any practice which offered even a hint of insensitivity. And yet this badly sets them apart from those they are seeking to represent; it is an example of a particularly egregious and insensitive double standard. At least the expenses scandal was about greed. This is in many ways lower — it cheapens the lives of our armed forces."
AP Photo
March 10, 2010
"Only Credible Plan for Early Cuts Can Redeem Us"
The Scotsman
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"...[W]e can only borrow because international lenders have the confidence to lend to us — the UK has a triple-A rating in international credit markets and that is important. But the more we drag our feet in paying back, the less confident the markets will be. If our rating as a country is downgraded, it would mean higher interest rates, which in turn will mean each of us will pay more each month for our mortgages and have less each month to spend. And that in turn will mean less money going into the economy to help Britain get back on its feet"
AP Photo
March 10, 2010
"Another Nail in the Coffin of the Special Relationship"
The Huffington Post
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"Let us not forget the times when we needed US assistance and it was not forthcoming. Take the Americans' reluctance to impede IRA fundraising efforts in the US. A reluctance for thirty years, a period which saw the deaths of over eighteen hundred people, including 1100 members of the British Security Forces and 630 civilians. That is above and beyond the billions of pounds of damage their bombs did to UK mainland cities. Or the US invasion of Grenada, a former British colony and member of the Commonwealth after Reagan had assured Thatcher that no such incursion was planned. Or the US siding with Mexico, Peru and Brazil in trying to force the UK to the negotiating table when the Falkland Islands — sovereign British territory — had been invaded by Argentina. Or the subsequent refusal of US Secretary of State Alexander Haig to allow the UK to use an airfield on Ascension Island (UK territory) to refuel Vulcan bombers to bomb Argentinean runways in Port Stanley (UK territory)."
AP Photo
March 8, 2010
"Televised Political Debates Dumb Down Democracy"
The Huffington Post
By Azeem Ibrahim, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2008–2010
"...TV debates, far from encouraging a democratic choice, encourage us to judge the leaders in politics with the values of Hollywood. The danger is that in the minds of many viewers, cogent policies take second place to whiter teeth or a stronger jawline."
