RAND: Commentary by RAND Staff 2008-07-03T07:44:23Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:380E7B92-30B6-11DC-A368-64E9D44B69C5 Dealing with Iran: The Case for Talking urn:uuid:537C967C-4797-11DD-AD86-55E038788F35 2008-06-30T10:57:00Z 2008-06-30T10:57:00Z Opponents of war with Iran who take their stand on the grounds that Washington should talk to Tehran first are in danger of finding themselves trapped within a broadening national consensus that could lead to an unwinnable war, writes James Dobbins. China's Responsibility to Protect urn:uuid:2192AFFC-3D6A-11DD-BC9B-E1BD38788F35 2008-06-17T12:09:00Z 2008-06-17T12:09:00Z Of all countries remiss in their responsibility to protect human rights, China bears special scrutiny because of its influence with the Myanmar and Sudanese regimes, writes David C. Gompert. Hezbollah's Armory Up for Debate urn:uuid:652A5BFA-3970-11DD-8316-E1BD38788F35 2008-06-12T10:44:00Z 2008-06-12T10:44:00Z Hezbollah's recent flexing of its muscles in Lebanon may well lead to an unintended effect -- the long-overdue disarming of the militant group, write Theodore Karasik and Ghassan Schbley. A Chance in Lebanon; No Place for Tyrants urn:uuid:1B842DEE-3648-11DD-8822-E1BD38788F35 2008-06-06T10:17:00Z 2008-06-06T10:17:00Z Hezbollah's recent flexing of its muscles in Lebanon may well lead to an unintended effect: the long-overdue disarming of the militant group, write Theodore W. Karasik and Ghassan Schbley. Invisible Wounds of War urn:uuid:CBF047AE-3D63-11DD-BBA4-E1BD38788F35 2008-06-01T11:22:00Z 2008-06-01T11:22:00Z According to a recent RAND Corporation study about these "Invisible Wounds of War," 18.5 percent of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans are suffering from PTSD or depression and need appropriate treatment, and 19.5 percent report experiencing a TBI during deployment, writes Kayla Williams. Russian Soccer Diplomacy urn:uuid:542F9B72-2E75-11DD-83B9-E1BD38788F35 2008-05-29T11:21:00Z 2008-05-29T11:21:00Z Despite its authoritarian political system, Russia is in many ways increasingly open. Its people are part of a consumer society that models its consumption habits after Western Europe, says Lowell Schwartz. Give Them Sabbaticals urn:uuid:D198F3B0-1C46-11DD-B135-E1BD38788F35 2008-05-07T08:03:00Z 2008-05-07T08:03:00Z In academia and, increasingly, corporate America, sabbaticals are a time-honored way to step aside from the daily grind and intellectually reboot. The U.S. Army should embrace something similar, writes Laura Miller. Afghan Progress Spotty but Hopeful urn:uuid:E58883E8-1E00-11DD-B0DC-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-29T12:47:00Z 2008-04-29T12:47:00Z As NATO's role in Afghanistan was debated in Bucharest recently, the bad headlines continued rolling in. And yet, on the ground, there is equally compelling evidence that the efforts of the international community are making a difference and conditions are improving, write Obaid Younossi and Peter Dahl Thruelsen. A House of Tribes for Iraq urn:uuid:CF11AB3C-15F7-11DD-86DC-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-25T07:22:00Z 2008-04-25T07:22:00Z Many western notions of governance may be struggling to take hold in Iraq, but one that deserves a close look is the effort to create what would amount to a unique upper legislative body: The House of Tribes, write Theodore Karasik and Ghassan Schbley. Good Morning, Syria! – Time to Revisit Our Axis of Evil List? urn:uuid:D74B5F4A-1139-11DD-BEBB-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-22T06:32:00Z 2008-04-22T06:32:00Z The time may come to start contemplating whether Syria might follow the example of Libya and make its way off the axis of evil, write Cheryl Benard and Ed O'Connell. A Better Way to Pay for Prescriptions urn:uuid:2ADC195A-113B-11DD-BAFD-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-19T06:41:00Z 2008-04-19T06:41:00Z The pricing plans most people choose for their cell phones are simple: Pay one price and talk as much as you want. What if paying for your prescription drugs were as easy and appealing?, writes Dana P. Goldman. Iraq Needs an Ownership Surge urn:uuid:F5ED1830-0AF4-11DD-B70F-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-13T07:04:00Z 2008-04-13T07:04:00Z The military surge in Iraq has created conditions favorable for long-term stability. Now a new approach to economic reconstruction is needed to sustain the hard-fought military gains, write Clare Lockhart and Joseph Konzelmann. The New Deterrence: Overwhelming and Searching Retaliation urn:uuid:4812DF1E-0807-11DD-A60E-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-10T13:38:00Z 2008-04-10T13:38:00Z [T]he United States should leave no one in doubt: participation or complicity in a WMD attack will trigger "overwhelming" and searching retaliation, writes Elbridge Colby. Real Roles, Missions Debate urn:uuid:A1BBD43C-0B1B-11DD-9175-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-07T11:41:00Z 2008-04-07T11:41:00Z The United States can and should move beyond a "one size fits all" approach to sizing military forces toward a construct that shapes each service for the types of operations it is actually expected to conduct in the future, write Andrew Hoehn and David Ochmanek. Iraq's Sunni Time Bomb urn:uuid:D1E50A24-0252-11DD-8DB2-E1BD38788F35 2008-04-03T07:24:00Z 2008-04-03T07:24:00Z While the recent fighting in Basra and Baghdad has alerted many Americans to the danger that Shiite-on-Shiite violence poses to our goals in Iraq, it should not divert our focus from another looming threat: that the Sunni tribesmen who have sided with the American-led coalition may turn against us, writes Matthew Sherman. America is Making a Difference in Eastern Afghanistan urn:uuid:B741F230-00C3-11DD-BCE8-80F038788F35 2008-04-01T07:46:00Z 2008-04-01T07:46:00Z [The United States] has made some progress against the Taliban and other insurgent groups in eastern Afghanistan, and created a window of opportunity to spread this elsewhere, writes Seth G. Jones. Georgia on Their Mind urn:uuid:C5B14A9E-FCF1-11DC-97C9-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-27T11:06:00Z 2008-03-27T11:06:00Z As NATO heads toward its summit meeting in Bucharest on April 3-4, the question of NATO enlargement — especially whether to give Membership Action Plans, or MAPs, to Georgia and Ukraine — has re-emerged as a contentious issue, writes F. Stephen Larrabee. Danish Cartoons Doom Us All urn:uuid:983E1F0A-FB44-11DC-A4B5-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-21T07:54:00Z 2008-03-21T07:54:00Z Like two years ago, last week's rage in Pakistan over reprints of cartoons and a forthcoming Dutch film that insult Islam's holy book once again entangles Muslims and the West in a fury over freedom of speech, writes Farhana Ali. Finding Common Ground in an Uncommon Nation urn:uuid:6AC20F7A-0718-11DD-8DDA-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-19T09:08:00Z 2008-03-19T09:08:00Z Cheryl Benard and Ed O'Connell write about their time in Syria discovering creative outlets in media, such as how a director in a country known for defending terrorism could produce "entertainment" that portrayed quite the opposite. A New National Strategy for Korea: North Korea Threats Require Deterrence, Reconciliation urn:uuid:F6761A48-F5B6-11DC-9A8E-E1BD38788F35 2008-03-13T06:16:00Z 2008-03-13T06:16:00Z The new Korean government should fully recognize the North Korean military threats and respond by fielding military counters against dangerous North Korean military capabilities, writes Bruce Bennett.