Message from the Editor

Two important components of spreading world peace today are resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and maintaining the readiness of U.S. Army forces to defend America and its allies.

Apart from its intrinsic value, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would help improve the image of the United States in the Muslim, especially Arab, world. Meanwhile, maintaining the readiness of U.S. Army forces would help ensure stability in many spots around the globe, if only as a deterrent against opportunistic adversaries.

We at the RAND Corporation cannot stipulate the terms of a peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. However, we can — and do — show how the development of various public sectors can contribute to a successful Palestinian state. Moreover, we contend that the concrete work of building such a state should begin now, by laying the groundwork for a new national infrastructure and by improving public health, education, water resources, and security in Palestine. Work in these areas could empower the moderate Palestinian leadership today and boost the prospects of a negotiated peace settlement tomorrow. Rarely has there been such a promising and grounded message regarding the Israelis and Palestinians.

Our story about the U.S. Army is equally unusual, if disconcerting. Rarely, if ever, has there been such a straightforward, clear-headed, point-by-point itemization of the ways in which the strongest fighting force in the world has become strained. Lynn Davis and Michael Polich consider a variety of ways to rectify the situation. Yet the authors find no option, no policy, no alternative that could alleviate the problems, presuming a world where high levels of overseas deployments continue, without imposing some kind of significant cost or risk.

One story reads like a dream that can come true. The other story reads like a reality check.

—John Godges