Ukraine Does Not Currently Meet NATO Standards for Membership

• While it may be politically appealing to fast-track Ukraine’s accession, abrogating the formal steps to membership could have the unintended consequence of weakening NATO by introducing a member that does not meet the standards of the whole.
• By allowing Ukraine to join NATO at this time, member states would be explicitly risking being drawn into a wider conflict. Introducing the Alliance into the war is not likely to deescalate the conflict—and could in fact further engage the continent.
• Addressing Ukraine’s request for membership through the established process is the responsible and prudent course of action that will advance NATO’s primary interest: collective self-defense of its members.
• In the meantime, NATO’s member nations are right to continue to focus on supporting Ukraine’s self-defense against an unprovoked and savage Russian invasion.

Schedule an Interview: Victoria Coates and James Carafano

DC Council's Emergency Crime Bill Not Enough to Curb Crime

• If the D.C. Council believes this is enough to reverse course on the crime problem that has plagued our nation’s capital, then they’re sorely mistaken.
• With violent crime up 33% and homicides 17% higher than the same time last year, we’re seeing the consequences of the council’s decision to defund and dehumanize the police and push pro-criminal, anti-victim policies.
• Overall, the crime problem requires a straightforward solution: put more police on the streets and empower them to do their jobs, and have prosecutors who prosecute criminals and seek justice for victims.

Schedule an Interview: Zack Smith

After The Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action, Are College DEI Offices in Danger?

• With colleges questioning if they can carry out diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, on campuses, it’s good to highlight a Heritage study that says many of these programs are bloated and have a high taxpayer cost. 
• Researcher Jay Greene found that colleges’ vast DEI bureaucracy has little to do with students’ satisfaction with their college.
• The study showed the average university has 45.1 people tasked with promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, but some schools have many more. Many DEI employees earn six-figure salaries for leading initiatives that the authors found to be ineffective and instead enforce a “political orthodoxy.”
• The report notes that it is troubling that much of the programming that DEI personnel offer tends to lack diversity of viewpoints and may have the effect of dividing rather than including.

Schedule an Interview: Jay Greene