Afghanistan has long been a crossroads of world cultures, economies, politics, and militaries. RAND's early research on Afghanistan examined the 1980s Soviet military campaign and the subsequent fundamentalist Islamic regime. Since Operation Enduring Freedom, the 2001 U.S. military effort to rout the Taliban and find Osama bin Ladin's Al Qaeda network, RAND has engaged the new Afghan government, military, and people to support reconstruction, counterinsurgency, and nation-building efforts.
COMMENTARY
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.
REPORT
U.S. counterinsurgency efforts need to exploit information power by connecting with and learning from the population itself to increase the effectiveness of both the indigenous government and the U.S. military and civilian services that support it.
REPORT
The Iraq debate is focused on whether to legislate the time that soldiers must be at home between overseas deployments. Stretched Thin discusses how to assess the tradeoffs among the number of combat units, the level of Iraq deployments, and the time that soldiers have at home.
NEWS RELEASE
RAND Recommends U.S. Military Adopt Consumer Marketing Strategies to Reach Iraqi and Afghan Civilians.
REPORT
Adopting successful business marketing practices, such as branding and monitoring customer satisfaction, could help the U.S. military get more support from the local populations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
COMMENTARY
Afghan Problem is Regional, in United Press International.
REPORT
Today's strategic environment implies an obligation to preserve innocent life when possible and to rebuild that which war destroys. Various tools can help better enable military and civilian alike to meet these objectives by more effectively conducting urban combat and restoration.
COMMENTARY
There is a growing movement in Canada to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, illustrated by such newspaper headlines as: "Is it time to go?" and "Canada must leave Afghanistan." Such a move would be a tragic mistake, writes Seth G. Jones.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: Flagging Ally: Pakistan's Lapses Are Hurting the War on Terror, in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
REPORT
The relative roles of U.S. ground and air power in major operations and campaigns have shifted since the end of the Cold War. To assess this shift (i.e., between the Army and Air Force, respectively), the author of this report analyzed post–Cold War conflicts in Iraq (1991), Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001), and Iraq (2003). This revised edition includes updates and an index.
REPORT
The relative roles of U.S. ground and air power in major operations and campaigns have shifted since the end of the Cold War. To assess this shift (i.e., between the Army and Air Force, respectively), this executive summary discusses four of the five post–Cold War conflicts analyzed in the larger monograph: Iraq (1991), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001), and Iraq (2003).
REPORT
Testimony presented before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 8, 2007.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: Afghanistan's Local Insurgency, in International Herald Tribune.
NEWS RELEASE
January 3, 2007 News Release: RAND Evaluates Efforts to Improve Effectiveness and Human Rights Performance of Internal Security Forces in 4 Nations.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: Europe's Afghan Test, in United Press International.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: Pakistan's Tribal Deals Aren't Working, in International Herald Tribune.
NEWS RELEASE
November 29, 2006 News Release:RAND Study Says Lessons from Fighting Cold War-Era Insurgencies Could Aid U.S. Efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: The EU Should Put Up or Shut Up in Afghanista, in Project Syndicate--an association that distributes commentaries to 291 newspapers in 115 countries.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: How to Curb Rising Suicide Terrorism in Afghanistan, in Christian Science Monitor.
COMMENTARY
Published commentary by RAND staff: America Needs to Pick Its Fights Carefully, in International Herald Tribune.
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