2012-05-24T00:10:33Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/commentary.html http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/24/RAND.html 2012-05-24T00:01:00Z 2012-05-24T00:01:00Z

Three challenges still await NATO: containing fallout from France's new policy, re-opening the Pakistan supply lines, and the need for Russian cooperation, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/23/USAT.html 2012-05-23T19:11:00Z 2012-05-23T19:11:00Z

Across the country, electronic medical records, designed first and foremost to make health care delivery safer and more efficient, are proving valuable when disaster strikes, write Mahshid Abir and Art Kellermann.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/23/RAND.html 2012-05-23T12:33:00Z 2012-05-23T12:33:00Z

If we want to make progress on the now-global obesity epidemic, we must challenge the status quo and make unhealthy food the new tobacco, writes Helen Wu.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/22/FP.html 2012-05-22T10:35:00Z 2012-05-22T10:35:00Z

Khamenei faces a critical choice in the months ahead: make a compromise to lessen tensions with the United States and the international community, or maintain a status quo that may set in motion the demise of his regime, writes Alireza Nader.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/17/CT.html 2012-05-17T20:40:00Z 2012-05-17T20:40:00Z

The decision by President Putin not to attend the NATO summit and the G-8 summit is a blow to the Obama administration's hopes of building closer ties to Russia and underscores that the effort to "reset" relations with Russia is likely to be slow and fraught with difficulties, writes F. Stephen Larrabee.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/17/IHT.html 2012-05-17T09:49:00Z 2012-05-17T09:49:00Z

At a time when the European Union faces mounting economic and political challenges, maintaining a strong, vibrant Atlantic alliance is more important than ever, write F. Stephen Larrabee and Peter A. Wilson.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/16/NEJM.html 2012-05-16T13:09:00Z 2012-05-16T13:09:00Z

The fact that many ED (emergency department) visits could be managed in primary care settings does not mean that such care is available, write Arthur L. Kellermann and Robin M. Weinick.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/15/RAND.html 2012-05-15T08:00:00Z 2012-05-15T08:00:00Z

In considering foreign application to acquire U.S. companies, the United States needs to consider both risks as well as benefits in both defense and economic dimensions, write Charles Wolf, Jr., Brian Chow, Gregory Jones, and Scott Harold.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/13/ZPS.html 2012-05-13T13:54:00Z 2012-05-13T13:54:00Z

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China will probably begin producing its first large commercial aircraft later this decade. But the C919 is unlikely to be technologically or commercially competitive when it arrives, writes Chad J. R. Ohlandt.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/11/MS.html 2012-05-11T21:04:00Z 2012-05-11T21:04:00Z

Reliable birth control contributed to economic development by reducing women's risk of dropping out of school associated with early childbearing and high fertility rates, contributing in turn to increases in women's labor force participation, the continuity of their careers, and the standard of living of women, children and families, writes Chloe Bird.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/11/RAND.html 2012-05-11T15:00:00Z 2012-05-11T15:00:00Z

RAND President and CEO Michael Rich writes about how RAND computer models and empirical analyses are helping protect and restore the Louisiana coast.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/06/FA.html 2012-05-06T10:18:00Z 2012-05-06T10:18:00Z

While I have no doubt of Levin's determination to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens, incremental adjustments and seemingly small compromises, each sensible under the circumstances, can have a cumulative effect that erodes the very liberty we are trying to protect, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/03/FP.html 2012-05-03T11:01:00Z 2012-05-03T11:01:00Z

To prepare for the interventions to come in the next decade, the United States must adapt the lessons from its experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and use them to generate a new, more realistic, and feasible doctrine, write Radha Iyengar and Douglas A. Ollivant.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/05/02/USNEWS.html 2012-05-02T15:58:00Z 2012-05-02T15:58:00Z

On-the-job training is a necessary element of the American presidency, but so should be learning from the accomplishments, as well as the mistakes, of one's predecessor, writes James Dobbins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/30/NJ.html 2012-04-30T13:32:00Z 2012-04-30T13:32:00Z

Over time, al Qaeda could just fade away. Always resilient, it may morph to survive. Developments on any of several fronts might even enable it to rise again. In a long contest, surprises must be expected, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/29/WSJ.html 2012-04-29T10:45:00Z 2012-04-29T10:45:00Z

As the administration looks eastward—a strategy that incorporates China's rise—underestimating al Qaeda would be a dangerous mistake, writes Seth G. Jones.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/23/FP.html 2012-04-23T23:03:00Z 2012-04-23T23:03:00Z

Predictions of al Qaeda's imminent demise are rooted more in wishful thinking and politicians' desire for applause lines than in rigorous analysis, writes Seth G. Jones.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/20/WSJ.html 2012-04-20T18:15:00Z 2012-04-20T18:15:00Z

Being honest about the uncertainties involved is the price of admission to any serious discussion about marijuana legalization, writes Beau Kilmer.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/20/WP.html 2012-04-20T00:07:00Z 2012-04-20T00:07:00Z

"Why Nations Fail" is a sweeping attempt to explain the gut-wrenching poverty that leaves 1.29 billion people in the developing world struggling to live on less than $1.25 a day. You might expect it to be a bleak, numbing read. It's not. It's bracing, garrulous, wildly ambitious and ultimately hopeful, writes Warren Bass.

http://www.rand.org/commentary/2012/04/19/FA.html 2012-04-19T14:08:00Z 2012-04-19T14:08:00Z

Just as before the disqualifications, the fundamental decision voters face is about the scope and nature of the change Egypt will undergo in the coming years. And there are still candidates representing almost every position on that spectrum, writes Jeffrey Martini.