2010-03-03T10:57:00Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:09C490D2-F6D5-11DD-8200-12D538788F35 urn:uuid:B601BDE8-22E4-11DF-9764-54C038788F35 2010-02-25T00:00:00Z 2010-02-25T00:00:00Z

Iran's attempt to join the world's nuclear-weapons club is setting the stage for a military confrontation. Israel's view on the matter is clear—a nuclear-armed Iran is a threat to its existence. What will Iran do in the wake of an Israeli attack that Iran will almost certainly assume has U.S. support, asks David E. Johnson.

urn:uuid:9A6587C2-FAC6-11DE-89EF-D7ED38788F35 2010-02-05T00:00:00Z 2010-02-05T00:00:00Z

As it withdraws troops from Iraq, the United States must work not only to maintain security in that nation, but also focus on how the action will impact other regional interests.

urn:uuid:BCD8FCE2-E975-11DE-B735-24C138788F35 2010-01-18T00:00:00Z 2010-01-18T00:00:00Z

The U.S. military training system is the envy of many countries around the world, but the militaries of China, France, the UK, India, and Israel can help the U.S. identify different approaches to readiness, adaptability, and operational issues.

urn:uuid:D267C53C-F57A-11DE-861E-54C038788F35 2010-01-14T00:00:00Z 2010-01-14T00:00:00Z

As the U.S. prepares to eventually end its military involvement in Iraq, it must recognize that this drawdown will affect vulnerable and at-risk populations, some of whom have depended on U.S. security forces over the last six years. This has significant policy implications for Iraq and the Middle East more broadly.

urn:uuid:F3480572-FCA1-11DE-B7C9-54C038788F35 2010-01-08T00:00:00Z 2010-01-08T00:00:00Z

As America starts its ninth year at war, more than 32,000 U.S. service members have already been wounded in action in Iraq and about 3,500 in Afghanistan. Will U.S. resolve to strengthen care for wounded Americans be maintained, asks Ralph Masi.

urn:uuid:BE9A0774-F622-11DE-935E-54C038788F35 2009-12-30T00:00:00Z 2009-12-30T00:00:00Z

Two foiled airliner bombings bracket a decade that changed the world's understanding of terrorism as a new form of global warfare and has had profound ramifications we are still coming to grips with in the U.S., writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

urn:uuid:F3E78CFA-D43D-11DE-92B9-24C138788F35 2009-11-19T00:00:00Z 2009-11-19T00:00:00Z

In testimony presented before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Brian Michael Jenkins assesses the tragic and disquieting events at Fort Hood in the context of terrorist violence in the U.S. and the Muslim American community .

urn:uuid:E62CEE54-CD97-11DE-9888-24C138788F35 2009-11-09T00:00:00Z 2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

When the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago, those raised in the shadow of possible nuclear holocaust felt disbelief, followed by relief and hope that the end of the Cold War would bring lasting peace, and the end of conflict. And in Europe, at least, it mostly did – but not everywhere, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.

urn:uuid:14C9375E-C587-11DE-A23B-11C138788F35 2009-11-06T00:00:00Z 2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

Starting in 2008, the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy conducted a series of exercises to help the new U.S. administration address the challenges of the Arab-Israeli conflict (and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular) as a key component of the broader effort to secure stability in the Middle East.

urn:uuid:7837C598-B8E5-11DE-A9A8-B72839788F35 2009-10-14T00:00:00Z 2009-10-14T00:00:00Z

With much talk about how to "win hearts and minds" in the Muslim world, it's surprising that few are looking back to a global contest of ideas that the U.S. and its allies categorically won: the Cold War, write Todd C. Helmus and Dalia Dassa Kaye.

urn:uuid:0FFF40C6-A3BB-11DE-82FF-24C138788F35 2009-10-07T00:00:00Z 2009-10-07T00:00:00Z

Although U.S. Army deployments have been linked positively to the likelihood of reenlisting for much of the past decade, by 2006 the mounting burden of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan reached the point where deployment had a negative effect on reenlistment.

urn:uuid:1740BDB4-93DB-11DE-9629-33C038788F35 2009-09-30T00:00:00Z 2009-09-30T00:00:00Z

Effective counterinsurgency is dependent on understanding the local population. A survey of those living in Iraq's Anbar Province (once one of the country's most violent areas), reveals both the many improvements that have occurred, as well as the extent to which these Iraqis have suffered from the effects of war.

urn:uuid:B089376C-8B25-11DE-9758-34C038788F35 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z

RAND Arroyo Center examined the question of how the Army can help make key civilian agencies more capable partners in stability, security, transition, and reconstruction operations. Even without much action at the national level, the Army can still improve civilian participation in these activities.

urn:uuid:584F26E0-9C7A-11DE-8550-32C038788F35 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z 2009-09-22T00:00:00Z

Many analysts have examined the media that violent extremists use to communicate their core messages. Far less research, however, has been devoted to the growing body of creative works produced by Arab authors and artists that counter the intellectual and ideological underpinnings of violent extremism.

urn:uuid:1A2C945C-926A-11DE-83D0-33C038788F35 2009-09-08T00:00:00Z 2009-09-08T00:00:00Z

To address a decline in high-quality black enlistments in the U.S. Army and other minority trends across other service branches, the military may want to look at how it allocates its resources to such recruiting tools as bonuses, educational benefits and recruiters.

urn:uuid:C9493A24-7B6F-11DE-B0F9-55C038788F35 2009-08-27T00:00:00Z 2009-08-27T00:00:00Z

China is a global actor of significant and growing importance, now integrated into the international system and altering that system's dynamics. The complexity of China's ever-changing global activism raises questions about its intentions and the implications for global stability and prosperity.

urn:uuid:A14EF310-7BA6-11DE-851F-55C038788F35 2009-08-04T00:00:00Z 2009-08-04T00:00:00Z

During the Iraq war, Coalition forces first classified the MeK, an Iranian militant group advocating the overthrow of their government, as enemy combatants operating in Iraq. Following a ceasefire agreement, the U.S. controversially switched their status to civilian. This decision and what should now be done with MeK members is reviewed.

urn:uuid:A1AD4FD8-76B4-11DE-865C-4CC038788F35 2009-07-30T00:00:00Z 2009-07-30T00:00:00Z

Will the current global economic recession have long-term geopolitical implications? Assuming that economic recovery begins in the first half of 2010, lasting structural alterations in the international system — a substantial change in U.S.-China relations, for example — are unlikely. This is because economic performance is only one of many geopolitical elements that shape countries' strategic intent and core external policies.

urn:uuid:A122BB8E-76B4-11DE-865C-4CC038788F35 2009-07-28T00:00:00Z 2009-07-28T00:00:00Z

The U.S. military can meet President Obama's timeline - one of three alternatives that are compared - for the drawdown of troops from Iraq, but sufficient combat force must remain to ensure a peaceful January 2010 election. Slower drawdowns are recommended for the regions most at risk of post-withdrawal conflict.

urn:uuid:CFF03E74-7069-11DE-B1A3-52C038788F35 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z

Longtime Afghanistan expert Seth G. Jones harnesses important new historical research, thousands of declassified government documents, and interviews with prominent figures to reveal how the siphoning of resources to Iraq left Afghanistan vulnerable to a "war of a thousand cuts." He argues for a radically new approach.