This commentary appeared in Christian Science Monitor on May 16, 2013.

Fairly or not, Bangladesh seems to make international news only at moments of tragedy.

Much of the misery that afflicts this teeming South Asian nation has been beyond human control. Since 1980, nearly 200,000 people have been killed in natural disasters, and more than 10 million Bangladeshis are affected by such events on average each year. Tropical Storm Mahasen hit coastal areas earlier today, killing 12 people, destroying thousands of homes, and forcing as many as a million people to flee the area....

The remainder of this commentary is available at csmonitor.com.

It's National Transportation Week—do you know why your gas taxes don't go as far as they used to?

Most Americans don't know how much they pay at the pump in taxes. It's not very obvious, since the price per gallon already includes federal, state, and in a few cases local gas taxes. Depending where you live, you pay anywhere from about 26 cents to 50 cents. That's not very much, considering most of us pay $4 per gallon, and in most places it hasn't changed since gas cost half that much.

Gas taxes are a type of user fee—you pay for the amount you use. It's analogous to other utilities—if you use more electricity, or gas, or water, you pay more. So far, so good. The gas tax has been a great system: reasonably inexpensive to implement, easy to understand, and for almost a century it's been a good way to ensure that people who drive more pay their fair share.

This commentary appeared on The Hill's Congress Blog on May 14, 2013.

The use of drones to attack the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and al Qaeda there and in Yemen, draws criticism for exacerbating anti-American sentiment. But drone use needs to be seen in broader contexts as the U.S. withdraws from combat in Afghanistan, deals with unrest in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, and grapples with al Qaeda threats to our homeland.

Debate has focused on using drones to assassinate — that is the proper word — those identified as major al Qaeda operatives, their allies or others in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen. Al Qaeda continues to seek a 9/11-sized attack on the U.S., making it appropriate to target complicit individuals outside the United States for killing or capture. We need to re-examine how to do it, along with the costs and risks.

When President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in Washington on Thursday, a long list of topics will likely be on the table. Turkey plays a very important role in many of the issues that matter in Washington: Middle East peace, counter-terrorism, Iran sanctions, and NATO operations in Afghanistan. There is also Turkey's possible breakthrough deal with the PKK to talk about.

The big question, however, is whether anything substantive comes from their discussions of Syria, which Obama also discussed with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday. While Erdogan has made clear his frustrations with the lack of action by the United States in Syria, public support in Turkey for intervention has been tepid at best.

This commentary appeared on U.S. News & World Report on May 14, 2013.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is hardly a poster boy for reform in Iran. He has depicted himself as an original revolutionary and ideological purist. He has questioned the Holocaust and is virulently anti-Israeli in his rhetoric. His re-election as president in 2009 set off the largest popular demonstration since the 1979 revolution. And his presidency has produced an era of economic stagnation, international isolation and deep anxiety for the Iranian people....

The remainder of this commentary is available at usnews.com.

This commentary appeared on Reuters on May 14, 2013.

Israel's recent attacks on military targets in Syria have made clear the widening regional dimensions of Syria's civil war. They have also fueled debate about whether the United States should intervene. Look, some say, Israel acts when it sets red lines, and Syria's air defenses are easy to breach. Israel's involvement has energized those, like Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who argue for U.S. military intervention in Syria. Unfortunately, the interventionists are drawing the wrong lessons from the Israeli actions.

The first misconception is that the Israeli strikes showed how Israel stands by its red lines in ways that bolster its credibility — a sharp contrast to the perceived equivocation of President Barack Obama's stated red line that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a “game changer.”

This commentary appeared on Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity on May 14, 2013.

At a time when government finances are stretched, there is growing interest in finding new and innovative ways to privately fund the public services that improve social outcomes. One approach that has garnered significant interest among policymakers and advocates is the Social Impact Bond, or SIB. Early experiments in the United Kingdom are testing whether these bonds could be part of the solution to reducing pressure on public spending, but, to help SIBs fulfil this promise, it's critical to address how they can be most effectively implemented.

Originating in the United Kingdom, SIBs were first brought to the United States in August 2012 when the Goldman Sachs Group committed nearly $10 million to an anti-recidivism program for adolescents at Rikers Island prison in New York.

To celebrate our first 60 years, we created 60 Ways RAND Has Made a Difference, an online book to illustrate our most notable contributions. On our 65th birthday, we provide five of the most recent ways in which we at RAND are proud to have made a difference.

1. Improving the lives of servicemembers, veterans, and their families

A RAND study of return-to-work programs for veterans with service-related health problems identified which programs are most effective, which provide the best return on investment, and what strategies are needed to encourage servicemembers and veterans to utilize them.

In response to the disturbing increase in military suicides, RAND researchers looked at the support programs offered by the Department of Defense, and identified improvements to make suicide prevention strategies more effective.

RAND revisited its research on sexual orientation and U.S. military personnel policy and provided the Senate Armed Services Committee with current data as it considered and repealed the policy known as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

This commentary appeared on GlobalSecurity.org on May 13, 2013.

The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing highlighted growing public participation in protecting communities against terrorism. People on the scene before the medical teams arrived were the real first responders, as ordinary citizens always are in such cases. Shocked by the attack, Bostonians were eager to assist authorities in running the bombers down before they could strike again. It worked both ways as police opened their filters to enlist public assistance.

Spectators provided police with their videos of the event. They assisted in identifying the bombers. They obeyed the controversial order to stay off the streets. It was a citizen's tip that led to the capture of the second suspect. The spontaneous expressions of joy at the apprehension of the second suspect reflected not only relief, but also a sense of shared achievement.

This commentary appeared on CNN on May 13, 2013.

The car bomb attack this morning near Benghazi hospital, which some reports suggest may have killed a dozen people, is further evidence of the pressing need for the United States and its allies to up their support for the nascent Libyan state by paying to train and equip a Libyan security force loyal to its elected government. Unfortunately, U.S. support is stalled by Washington's reluctance to spend even modest sums on Libya, a country widely viewed as rich and capable of paying its own way.

Today's attack, coupled with the strike against the French embassy on April 23, marked a new phase in the deterioration of Libya's internal security situation, which has been near anarchic since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gadhafi....

The remainder of this op-ed can be found at cnn.com.