Urban warfare can take many forms, from guerrilla attacks to militia patrols to gang violence, but fighting in cities and towns — where civilians are at risk and combatants can hide more easily — is markedly different from combat in a more open or defined theater of operations. Determining how to assess enemies, mount a defense, and protect civilians is a focus of urban warfare research at RAND.
Blog
The United States and Israel should capitalize on Egypt's active role in mediating a cease-fire and thus revisit initiatives like the Arab Peace Initiative, which in the new regional strategic environment may be the best hope of reviving the moribund peace process before it is too late.
Research Brief
The authors identify factors critical to the coalition victory over Jaish al-Mahdi in the 2008 Battle of Sadr City and describe a new model for dealing with insurgent control of urban areas.
Report
A review of recent Israeli military conflicts indicates the United States may be ill-prepared for "hybrid" warfare against state-sponsored adversaries who have a modicum of training and small force numbers, but possess advanced weapons and enough expertise to challenge the U.S. military.
News Release
A review of recent Israeli military conflicts indicates the United States may be ill-prepared for "hybrid" warfare against state-sponsored adversaries who have a modicum of training and small force numbers, but possess advanced weapons and enough expertise to challenge the U.S. military.
Report
The authors identify factors critical to the coalition victory over Jaish al-Mahdi in the 2008 Battle of Sadr City and describe a new model for dealing with insurgent control of urban areas.
Commentary
If one year from today, the Taliban controls less territory and the Afghan security forces are more capable, then we will know the United States is winning, writes Nora Bensahel.
Report
The U.S. military is ill-equipped to fight extremists who hide in populations. The use of deadly force can harm and alienate the people whose cooperation U.S. forces need. To solve this problem, a new RAND study proposes a ''continuum of force.''
Commentary
The lawlessness along the mexican
border has gone way beyond a
local crime wave: there has been
a dramatic increase in armed robberies, not by lone gunmen but by heavily armed gangs. Kidnappings and homicides are way up—and not just murders but beheadings.... It is starting to look like a terrorist campaign, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Commentary
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.
Commentary
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, write David C. Gompert.
News Release
RAND Recommends U.S. Military Adopt Consumer Marketing Strategies to Reach Iraqi and Afghan Civilians.
Report
Reveals lessons that will better enable military and civilian alike to meet national policy objectives by more effectively conducting urban combat and restoration.
Report
Identifies noncombatant behavior from recent military urban operations that has affected the U.S. military's ability to meet objectives during warfare, incorporating information on noncombatants into models and training scenarios, and recommending a layer
Report
A strategy for training the U.S. armed forces to conduct operations in built-up urban areas.
Report
Describes the known precipitants of combat stress reaction, its battlefield treatment, and the preventive steps commanders can take to limit its extent and severity.
Report
Describes the global environment in which joint forcible entry operations might occur and the role of naval power in that environment.
Report
Describes the operational challenges posed by the urban environment and proposes several recommendations to surmount them.
Report
Describes the challenges of military urban operations and describes how the concepts of critical points and density can create a planning framework to meet those challenges.
Report
Examines several case studies of sustained campaigns of urban terrorism perpetrated by various domestic groups in the countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Report
Gives an overview of the formidable tasks facing U.S. Army combat service support (CSS) in urban operations and recommends ways for the CSS community to prepare itself to meet them
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