2012-02-10T00:10:23Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/commentary.html http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/02/09/MIL.html 2012-02-09T17:22:00Z 2012-02-09T17:22:00Z

Though for-profit institutions had been criticized in the Senate report as offering credits that were hard to transfer elsewhere, it was the colleges' willingness to accept military transcripts that appealed to veterans who wanted to complete their degrees as fast as possible, writes Jennifer Steele.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/02/01/FA.html 2012-02-01T21:14:00Z 2012-02-01T21:14:00Z

Much of the debate over this bill has focused on the political issue of executive authority versus rule of law. In doing so it has overlooked the indirect and insidious effects the new law may have on the United States' largely successful counterterrorist campaign, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/02/01/TH.html 2012-02-01T11:02:49Z 2012-02-01T11:02:49Z

With U.S. troops out of Iraq, the U.S. presence there will fall to 5,000 private security contractors....The experience with private security contractors during the war was fraught with challenges that pose risks now, writes Molly Dunigan.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/29/FA.html 2012-01-29T17:24:00Z 2012-01-29T17:24:00Z

Iran is in many ways a safer territory from which al Qaeda can operate. The United States has targeted al Qaeda in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries, but it has limited operational reach in Iran, writes Seth G. Jones.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/26/FP.html 2012-01-26T17:21:00Z 2012-01-26T17:21:00Z

The United States should not pursue sanctions with the intent of changing the regime, but to contain it in order to give Iranians a chance to effect change themselves, writes Alireza Nader.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/13/WP.html 2012-01-13T00:01:00Z 2012-01-13T00:01:00Z

The Vietnam negotiations arose from a U.S. initiative, in response to domestic political imperatives and over repeated objections from the Saigon regime. By contrast, the incipient Afghan process has its roots in that society, not ours, writes James Dobbins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/12/FP.html 2012-01-12T19:07:00Z 2012-01-12T19:07:00Z

Much has been made over differences between the U.S. and Israeli threat perceptions of Iran, but in fact internal Israeli divisions suggest that the gap may not be as great as some suggest, writes Dalia Dassa Kaye.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/11/SPO.html 2012-01-11T11:17:00Z 2012-01-11T11:17:00Z

The results from Montgomery County demonstrate that an integrative housing policy can be an effective form of school policy for disadvantaged children, writes Heather Schwartz.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/06/IHT.html 2012-01-06T09:22:00Z 2012-01-06T09:22:00Z

For all its bluster, the Iranian regime is more vulnerable than at any time in its 32-year history. Internally, Iran is constrained by deep political divisions, civil strife and a woeful economy, write Alireza Nader and James Dobbins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/01/04/JAMA.html 2012-01-04T09:59:00Z 2012-01-04T09:59:00Z

Most will agree with the undeniable fact that a new era in US medicine and US health care begins in less than 2 years. The key question is what potential measures should be monitored to determine both anticipated and unanticipated effects of the new law on the health of the US population, writes Robert H. Brook.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/12/29/AJC.html 2011-12-29T10:10:00Z 2011-12-29T10:10:00Z

To assure the health security of the United States, we must be capable of stopping anything a terrorist or Mother Nature might throw at us. Wholesale cuts to public health are taking us farther from that goal, write Art Kellermann and Melinda Moore.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/12/21/RAND.html 2011-12-21T17:31:00Z 2011-12-21T17:31:00Z

With his father's support over the last year, Kim Jong-Un has tried to rapidly reshape the North Korean leadership structure, giving him many new subordinates who are untried and lacking experience. Some will clearly make mistakes, writes Bruce Bennett.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/12/20/GS.html 2011-12-20T16:09:00Z 2011-12-20T16:09:00Z

The Arab Spring demonstrated that leaderless revolutions are difficult to repress or co-opt. Unfortunately, it is also true that leaderless revolts find it difficult to make transition to authority, writes Charles Ries.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/12/05/AH.html 2011-12-05T13:49:00Z 2011-12-05T13:49:00Z

Delivery of evidence-based care to all veterans with PTSD or depression would pay for itself—or even save money—within two years by improving productivity and reducing medical and mortality costs, writes Terri Tanielian.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/12/02/PSE.html 2011-12-02T14:22:00Z 2011-12-02T14:22:00Z

By refusing to face more squarely the probability that Iran will eventually acquire a nuclear weapons capability, the American and Israeli governments actually reduce their ability to dissuade Iran from crossing that threshold, writes James Dobbins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/11/29/RF.html 2011-11-29T10:15:00Z 2011-11-29T10:15:00Z

Publicly funded R&D investment is a coherent policy to support long term economic growth. Our only note of caution is about how far and how fast that growth can be delivered because the evidence we have is out of date and skewed towards the experience of just one country, write Jonathan Grant and Jon Sussex.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/11/28/CAHL.html 2011-11-28T10:46:00Z 2011-11-28T10:46:00Z

Hospitals operating with little competition are able to charge health plans much higher prices, which are passed on to consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums, writes Glenn Melnick.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/11/23/CNN.html 2011-11-23T14:03:00Z 2011-11-23T14:03:00Z

As America embarks on a tough strategic journey in the aftermath of Iraq, and contends with an ailing economy, it is wise to be mindful of the difference between hope and fact, writes Paula G. Thornhill.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/11/22/LAT.html 2011-11-22T11:49:00Z 2011-11-22T11:49:00Z

The high cost of crime to society suggests that adding police officers may give large cities a sizable return on their investments, write Greg Ridgeway and Paul Heaton.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2011/11/16/USNEWS.html 2011-11-16T09:51:00Z 2011-11-16T09:51:00Z

Reaction to a strike against Iran among neighboring populations would be almost uniformly hostile. The sympathy thereby aroused for Iran would make containment of Iranian influence much more difficult for Israel, for the U.S., and for the Arab regimes currently allied with Washington, writes James Dobbins.