2009-11-18T13:30:00Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:DD692316-4FF8-11DB-9EEF-35351D4D57CE urn:uuid:03FD79E8-CCB8-11DE-B3F4-24C138788F35 2009-11-09T00:00:00Z 2009-11-09T00:00:00Z

A new survey of military personnel who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan found that having an openly gay or lesbian colleague in their unit had no significant impact on their unit's cohesion or readiness, questing the assumption underlying the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

urn:uuid:14C9375E-C587-11DE-A23B-11C138788F35 2009-11-06T00:00:00Z 2009-11-06T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:6E33D3EE-9EC2-11DE-B608-24C138788F35 2009-10-08T00:00:00Z 2009-10-08T00:00:00Z

Rather than threatening to punish offenders, the U.S. must focus its efforts on defending critical civilian and military computer networks from cyber attack.

urn:uuid:0FFF40C6-A3BB-11DE-82FF-24C138788F35 2009-10-07T00:00:00Z 2009-10-07T00:00:00Z

Since 2006, the mounting burden of U.S. Army deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan has had a negative effect on reenlistment.

urn:uuid:1740BDB4-93DB-11DE-9629-33C038788F35 2009-09-30T00:00:00Z 2009-09-30T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:B089376C-8B25-11DE-9758-34C038788F35 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:1A2C945C-926A-11DE-83D0-33C038788F35 2009-09-08T00:00:00Z 2009-09-08T00:00:00Z

To address a decline in high-quality black enlistments in the U.S. Army and other minority trends across other service branches, the military may want to look at how it allocates its resources to such recruiting tools as bonuses, educational benefits and recruiters.

urn:uuid:62229CA6-8E4C-11DE-97BA-33C038788F35 2009-09-03T00:00:00Z 2009-09-03T00:00:00Z

RAND recently convened a group of experts from the U.S. government, allied partner nations, the maritime industry, and academic organizations to reconsider the underlying factors that drive maritime piracy in this century. This conference proceedings highlights the six major themes that animated much of the discussion.

urn:uuid:C9493A24-7B6F-11DE-B0F9-55C038788F35 2009-08-27T00:00:00Z 2009-08-27T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:656B535C-80F1-11DE-B9D4-D5D438788F35 2009-08-13T00:00:00Z 2009-08-13T00:00:00Z

The RAND Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition recently hosted a workshop that gave analysts and policymakers from many countries a collaborative opportunity to explore new methods and tools that can help improve long-term decisionmaking.

urn:uuid:C1F5E734-77BB-11DE-A2EC-6F0839788F35 2009-08-05T00:00:00Z 2009-08-05T00:00:00Z

While relations between China and Taiwan are warmer now than in recent years, China still feels entitled to use force to prevent Taiwan from becoming independent. Meanwhile, the modernizing of China's military may call into question the U.S.' ability to defend Taiwan against a large-scale Chinese attack.

urn:uuid:A14EF310-7BA6-11DE-851F-55C038788F35 2009-08-04T00:00:00Z 2009-08-04T00:00:00Z

During the Iraq war, Coalition forces first classified the MeK, an Iranian militant group advocating the overthrow of their government, as enemy combatants operating in Iraq. Following a ceasefire agreement, the U.S. controversially switched their status to civilian. This decision and what should now be done with MeK members is reviewed.

urn:uuid:A1AD4FD8-76B4-11DE-865C-4CC038788F35 2009-07-30T00:00:00Z 2009-07-30T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:A122BB8E-76B4-11DE-865C-4CC038788F35 2009-07-28T00:00:00Z 2009-07-28T00:00:00Z

The U.S. military can meet President Obama's timeline - one of three alternatives that are compared - for the drawdown of troops from Iraq, but sufficient combat force must remain to ensure a peaceful January 2010 election. Slower drawdowns are recommended for the regions most at risk of post-withdrawal conflict.

urn:uuid:7454EBEA-6BB5-11DE-85B2-51C038788F35 2009-07-22T00:00:00Z 2009-07-22T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:CFF03E74-7069-11DE-B1A3-52C038788F35 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z 2009-07-14T00:00:00Z

Longtime Afghanistan expert Seth G. Jones harnesses important new historical research, thousands of declassified government documents, and interviews with prominent figures to reveal how the siphoning of resources to Iraq left Afghanistan vulnerable to a "war of a thousand cuts." He argues for a radically new approach.

urn:uuid:8E86D73E-5527-11DE-8463-54C038788F35 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z

Recruitment and retention of urban police officers is a growing challenge in a time of increasing demand and decreasing resources. In June 2008, RAND convened a national summit at which speakers discussed police workforce issues, current strategies, best practices, and case studies of police agencies in selected cities.

urn:uuid:449E97E0-44A3-11DE-8A82-A3F438788F35 2009-06-23T00:00:00Z 2009-06-23T00:00:00Z

Because terrorism is not confined to national boundaries, it puts pressure on the U.S. both at home and abroad, forcing intelligence and law enforcement—the CIA and the FBI—to work together in new ways. This requires new means of sharing not just information but also analysis across the federal system.

urn:uuid:AD025A64-4C4C-11DE-A439-52C038788F35 2009-06-17T00:00:00Z 2009-06-17T00:00:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:8B063056-3FF5-11DE-81DC-53C038788F35 2009-06-02T00:00:00Z 2009-06-02T00:00:00Z

The Afghan National Army (ANA) is critical to the success of achieving a stable Afghanistan. This monograph assesses the ANA's progress and finds that though it has come a long way since the outset of the recent conflict in the country, the United States will play a crucial role in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future.