Iraq
Selected Research, Commentary and Congressional Testimony
Going Jihad: The Fort Hood Slayings and Home-Grown Terrorism — Nov. 19, 2009
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 .
Full Document
Terrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
The Fall of the Wall: A World Restored? — Nov. 9, 2009
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.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
The Day After... in Jerusalem: A Strategic Planning Exercise on the Path to Middle East Peace — Nov. 6, 2009
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.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
Fighting Terror the Cold War Way — Oct. 14, 2009
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.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Living Conditions in Anbar Province in June 2008 — Sep. 30, 2009
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.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Integrating Civilian Agencies in Stability Operations — Sep. 25, 2009
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.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Barriers to the Broad Dissemination of Creative Works in the Arab World — Sep. 22, 2009
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.
Full DocumentThe Arts Research Area
China's International Behavior: Activism, Opportunism, and Diversification — Aug. 27, 2009
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.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
World Economic Recession Unlikely to Have Lasting Geopolitical Consequences — Jul. 30, 2009
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.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
The Phoenix Program and Contemporary Counterinsurgency — Jul. 22, 2009
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have re-focused attention on past U.S. counterinsurgency operations like the Phoenix Program, aimed at dismantling the Viet Cong underground during the Vietnam War. This study helps balance claims about the program's effectiveness against charges of its brutality and its political costs.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Can Gitmo's Terrorists Be Rehabilitated? — Jun. 29, 2009
Before he closes Guantánamo, Obama must take a clear-eyed look at the record – and anticipate the next chapter of the fight against terrorism. What happens to terrorist suspects after they leave the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, asks Aidan Kirby Winn.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Reconstruction Under Fire: Unifying Civil and Military Counterinsurgency — Jun. 17, 2009
Effective civilian reconstruction work can help convince people to support their government against insurgency, Therefore, insurgents typically target such work, thereby threatening the civilian population. This too often results in a postponement of reconstruction efforts and/or excessive reliance on force to defeat insurgents.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Countering the Military's Latest Fad: Counterinsurgency — May 17, 2009
When Defense Secretary Gates announced that he was dismissing Gen. McKiernan as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and replacing him with Lt. Gen. McChrystal, he signaled his support for an intellectual movement that in a few short years has come to dominate military thinking in Washington, writes Celeste Ward.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
Leaving the Nest — Apr. 17, 2009
In the wake of President Obama's recent European trip, hopes for a rejuvenation of transatlantic security cooperation continue to rise. This means resolving some old problems and avoiding new pitfalls, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
Obama's Turkish Dilemma — Apr. 6, 2009
President Obama's visit to Ankara this week highlights Turkey's growing strategic importance to the United States - and a high stakes dilemma for the President and for U.S. strategic interests, writes F. Stephen Larrabee.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
The Torture Debate, Redux — Apr. 1, 2009
Former Vice President Cheney has been insisting again that the coercive interrogation techniques used against terrorism detainees after 9/11 prevented attacks on the United States.... His assertions merit more careful examination, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Assessing Combat Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Troops and Estimating the Costs to Society — Mar. 24, 2009
In testimony presented before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Teri Tanielian discusses the implications from the 2008 RAND study, "Invisible Wounds of War."
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
Implications for U.S. of the Saudi-Iranian Struggle for Influence in the Middle East — Mar. 17, 2009
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long been rivals in the Middle East, but the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the ongoing war in Iraq have increased tensions between the two states. This study analyzes the Saudi-Iranian struggle for influence in Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Lebanon and Palestine and its implications for U.S. interests.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
Is Iraq Safe Yet? — Mar. 5, 2009
The Obama administration's decision to withdraw the bulk of United Sates troops from Iraq over the next 19 months has sparked fears that Iraq will once again plunge into the wide-scale and debilitating violence that it endured from 2004 to 2007. Those fears are, for the most part, overblown, writes Lowell Schwartz.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Wanted Dead or Alive? When We Don't Get Our Man — Mar. 3, 2009
On his first day in office, President Barack Obama issued a dramatic series of executive orders intended to symbolize a change of direction in America's "war" on terrorism. Despite the headlines these orders generated, a more significant policy shift may have been the one signaled the week before his inauguration, writes Benjamin Runkle.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Power to the People: Rebooting Conventional Diplomacy — Feb. 27, 2009
The story of how President Obama engineered a grass-roots campaign, mobilizing formerly disengaged U.S. citizens with new media and new technologies, has reached almost mythological proportions. Less well known is the story of similar grass-roots efforts emerging in local communities around the world, write Cherl Benard and Edward O'Connell.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
U.S. Army Guidebook on Using Economic Development to Support Stability Operations — Feb. 21, 2009
This guidebook instructs U.S. Army personnel on how to better use various economic assistance programs and projects to support economic and infrastructure development in the course of their operations. Suggestions efforts include the realms of humanitarian assistance, agriculture, natural resource management, and private sector activity.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Obama's Foreign Policy Team and U.S.-Korean Relations — Feb. 16, 2009
The concrete contours of President Obama's foreign policy team have finally begun to emerge. What is intriguing is how many assignments are being given to those who have worked on the Korean peninsula, writes Chaibong Hahm.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Unfolding the Future of the Long War: Implications for the U.S. Military — Jan. 19, 2009
While policymakers, military leaders, and scholars have offered numerous definitions of the "long war" - an epic struggle against adversaries bent on forming a unified Islamic world to supplant western dominance; an extension of the war on terror - no consensus has been reached about this term or its implications for the United States.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
In Iraq, a Different Kind of Drama Stages a Message of Reconciliation — Dec. 18, 2008
While female suicide bombers in Iraq have been getting all the headlines, a very different cadre of women has emerged on the scene with the opposite goal of forging peace and paving over the sectarian differences. Above all, these activists want to take back the streets and neighborhoods of their country, write Edward O'Connell and Cheryl Benard.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
The Obama Withdrawal From Iraq: How Fast? — Dec. 16, 2008
The debate over withdrawal of American forces from Iraq has effectively ended: Troops will begin withdrawing in early 2009.... What is not yet entirely clear is what type of residual American force may remain in Iraq, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Explaining the Increase in Unemployment Compensation for Veterans During the Global War on Terror — Nov. 26, 2008
The Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX) program provides income assistance to unemployed veterans as they search for work, a number that increased by about 75 percent between 2002 and 2004, raising concerns that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having difficulty finding civilian jobs.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
History of Egyptian Grassroots Political Reform Movement Provides Insight Into Reform Efforts — Nov. 25, 2008
The Kefaya Movement, an indigenous effort for political reform organized in Egypt, provides policymakers with an example of the challenges grassroots organizations in the Arab world face as they try to implement democracy and political reform. In late 2004, Kefaya was able to mobilize wide segments of Egyptian society.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
For 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Retirement Revisions Recommended — Nov. 13, 2008
As military compensation is a fundamental tool for recruiting and retaining an all-volunteer force, it is reviewed every four years to make sure it can meet the U.S. military's objectives. This research examines the value and effectiveness of the current retirement system and possible alternatives, drawing on military personnel career data.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
In the Middle of the Fight: An Assessment of Medium-Armored Forces in Past Military Operations — Nov. 11, 2008
This monograph presents a qualitative assessment of the performance of medium-armored forces in 13 past conflicts that span the range of military operations. The accompanying analysis is designed to help inform U.S. Army decisions about fielding medium-armored forces in the future. The case histories yielded three major insights.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Know Your Enemy: From Iraq to Afghanistan — Nov. 9, 2008
As debate continues about how to fight a resurgent Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border, leaders in Washington, Kabul and Islamabad seem lost about what to do next.... And most experts agree that an Al Qaeda-orchestrated attack on the U.S. homeland would likely be plotted from their sanctuary in these border areas, write Benjamin Bahney and Renny McPherson.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Lessons from Six Decades of Research on Deterrence, From Cold War to Long War — Oct. 30, 2008
The United States' 2006 reversal of its 2002 proclamation that deterrence was irrelevant to most future national security strategies is bolstered by research which shows that deterrence will likely play an ongoing role in U.S. efforts to manage a variety of threats, including both near-peer competitors and terrorist organizations.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
War's Invisible Wounds: Our Veterans Are Not Getting the Care They Need, Deserve — Sep. 28, 2008
Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan service veterans who have returned home -- about one in five -- may suffer from combat-stress-related mental health problems. Our veterans ought to get the best available treatments our nation can offer, but they don't, write authors Terry Schell, Terri Tanielian and Lisa Jaycox.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Meeting America's Security Challenges Beyond Iraq — Sep. 18, 2008
In a conference cohosted by RAND and the Center for Naval Analyses Corporation, members of the U.S. defense community discussed approaches to meeting the challenges of a demanding future security environment.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Defeating Terrorist Groups — Sep. 18, 2008
In testimony presented before the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, Seth Jones discusses how to defeat terrorist groups through a strategy based on careful police and intelligence work rather than military force.
Full DocumentTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Too Soon to Judge the Surge — Aug. 29, 2008
Most of the units involved in the surge have been withdrawn from Iraq, and troop levels are about what they were before the surge was announced. And if General Petraeus recommends, further troop cuts may be adopted this fall. The key question is whether levels of violence will remain low once those troops are gone.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Turkey's Second Chance — Aug. 24, 2008
The recent decision by the Turkish Constitutional Court not to close the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) helped Turkey - and especially Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan - narrowly dodge a dangerous political bullet.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
DoD Should Consider Nonmilitary Means to Advance U.S. National Security Interests — Aug. 13, 2008
The nature of recent challenges and the types of missions the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has undertaken highlight the need for training DoD personnel in the simultaneous use of different types of tools, military and otherwise.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Probing Why Women Kill in Iraq — Aug. 7, 2008
A significant emphasis has been placed on female suicide bombers' tactical success, and efforts to determine why they kill focus on al-Qaida's recruitment of women. But little attention is paid to the personal motivation women have for killing themselves and dozens of innocents around them, writes Farhana Ali.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Stop the 'War' on Terror: Calling It a 'War' Is a Boon to Terrorist Recruiters — Aug. 6, 2008
Military might against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups isn't working – and no wonder. After studying the record of 648 terrorist groups between 1968 and 2006, we've found that military force has rarely been effective in defeating this enemy. Indeed, the US reliance on military force – especially conventional military forces – has often been counterproductive, write Seth G. Jones and Martin C. Libicki.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Dressed To Kill: Why the Number of Female Suicide Bombers is Rising in Iraq — Jul. 30, 2008
Muslim female suicide bombers are on the rise.... But for those of us who have studied the phenomenon, the assaults should not come as a surprise, writes Farhana Ali.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Colonel Cardinal's Iceberg Theory — Jul. 29, 2008
As we continue to pour invaluable resources into our sixth year in Iraq, and the U.S. public and politicians wonder what we should do next, now may be a good time to revisit the overarching theory of our campaign plan in the Pacific: Colonel Cardinal's Iceberg Theory, writes Dick Hoffmann.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Testimony on America's Need of a New Grand Strategy, Shift in National Security Policy — Jul. 15, 2008
The unanticipated costs and unpredictable outcomes of the War on Terror necessitate a reevaluation of national security strategy, including a shift away from policies of preemption and democratization and towards nation-building with its consequent need for a rebalancing of political and military power.
Full Document
Related Testimony
Improving Outcomes in Iraq Depends on Better Tracking of Violence Against Iraqis — Jun. 16, 2008
A formalized system of data collection will help monitor the extent and type of violence against Iraq civilians and will help improve U.S. counterinsurgency efforts.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Lean Thinking Comes to the Battlefield — Jun. 5, 2008
The 1991 Gulf War represented the pinnacle of the U.S. industrial approach to warfare: overwhelming mass. Subsequently, the U.S. military began the shift to a new support paradigm, adapting the lean, best practices of contemporary business, write Eric Peltz and Rick Eden.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
U.S. Military Prone to Operations Not in Accord with COIN Doctrine — Jun. 4, 2008
Similarities between the Vietnam War and current Middle East operations reveal our military is apt to engage in traditional warfare despite the more nuanced tactics called for by counter-insurgency doctrine.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
Unbeknownst to U.S., Islamic Media Shapes the Mid-East — May 23, 2008
A DVD is now available of a conference RAND sponsored to build awareness of popular media initiatives in the Islamic world that are successfully combating extremist agendas.
Full DocumentScience and Technology Research Area
Center Assesses Post-Deployment Health-Related Needs of Iraq Veterans — May 11, 2008
The Invisible Wounds of War Study assessed Iraq veterans' health-related needs associated with PTSD, major depression, and traumatic brain injury, examined the treatment capacity of the current health care system, and estimated the costs of providing quality health care to all military members who need it.
Read MoreHealth and Health Care Research Area
Give Them Sabbaticals — May 7, 2008
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.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Rethinking Counterinsurgency to Respond to the Evolving Jihadist Insurgency — May 5, 2008
Despite great technological and military advances, British and U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) operations have been slow to respond and adapt to the rise of the global jihadist insurgency. Operational failures have highlighted the need for the West to rethink and retool its current COIN strategy.
Full DocumentTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
A House of Tribes for Iraq — Apr. 25, 2008
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.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
Iraq Needs an Ownership Surge — Apr. 13, 2008
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.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
Real Roles, Missions Debate — Apr. 7, 2008
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.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Iraq's Sunni Time Bomb — Apr. 3, 2008
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.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Developing U.S. Civilian Personnel Capabilities in State-Building Operations — Mar. 19, 2008
Recent U.S. experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have shown that engaging in stability and reconstruction operations is a difficult and lengthy process that requires appropriate resources. A framework for improving U.S. civilian personnel and staffing programs for state-building efforts could help.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
International Perspectives on Interagency Reform — Jan. 30, 2008
In testimony presented before the Armed Services Committee, Nora Bensahel discusses the lack of civilian capacity in stability and nation building operations, which has led to an overreliance on military forces.
Full DocumentInternational Affairs Research Area
Make Room for Refugees — Dec. 16, 2007
Today, tens of thousands of Iraqis are in grave danger, targeted because they have worked with the United States. Many have been murdered. Others have fled their homes because of attacks or threats… Many want to come to America, and we should welcome them, writes Olga Oliker.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
U.S. Should Take Advantage of Improved Security in Iraq to Withdraw — Dec. 2, 2007
Because security in Iraq is improving, the United States now has a chance to achieve the best realistic outcome of its unfortunate invasion and occupation: extricating the bulk of U.S. forces without making things worse, writes David C. Gompert.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
Army Resource Gaps Can Be Filled by Building Partner Capabilities — Nov. 6, 2007
Ongoing operations and emerging mission requirements place a heavy burden on U.S. Army resources, resulting in capability gaps that the Army might fill by building appropriate capabilities in allies and partner armies through focused security cooperation.
Full DocumentNational Security Research Area
The Right Way to Withdraw — Oct. 14, 2007
Had we not invaded Iraq, there are any number of better things we could do to fight terror with the billions the administration plans to spend in Iraq this year. [But w]e're involved too deeply in Iraq and Afghanistan to exit suddenly without fixing our mess, writes James Dobbins.
Commentary
The Real Analogy for Iraq — Aug. 24, 2007
The conflict raging in Iraq has been compared to many earlier wars, but the best historical comparison has been largely overlooked, write John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt in a commentary appearing in United Press International.
CommentaryNational Security Research Area
A New Tact on Iraq — Aug. 24, 2007
As the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States approaches, al Qaeda appears to be gaining strength. America remains on alert. As Brian Michael Jenkins states in this commentary for the Washington Post, it's reasonable to wonder whether, how and when this conflict will end.
CommentaryTerrorism and Homeland Security Research Area
Are the Sunnis Changing Sides — Aug. 17, 2007
Sunni insurgents are coming to the view that they cannot successfully resist both the U.S. and the Shiite-dominated government at the same time. Increasing numbers of Sunni fighters in Anbar Province are therefore preparing for a tactical accommodation with the less dangerous enemy, the U.S., writes James Dobbins.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
Iraqi Refugee Challenge — Jun. 28, 2007
Better relations with [Iraqi refugee children] and the rest of the Arab world's "youth bulge" should be a high priority for American foreign policy and assistance, writes Kristin Cordell.
Commentary
A Comparative Evaluation of United Nations Peacekeeping — Jun. 25, 2007
James Dobbins discusses the performance of the United Nations in peacekeeping missions in testimony presented before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight.
Full Document
Fighting Insurgency in Iraq — Jun. 18, 2004
With Vietnam, El Salvador—and now Iraq—the U.S. has been ineffective in countering insurgencies. In light of this history, a new report details where the U.S. has failed in Iraq and what challenges lie ahead.
Occasional PaperInternational Affairs Research Area
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