COMMENTARY
The Vietnam negotiations arose from a U.S. initiative, in response to domestic political imperatives and over repeated objections from the Saigon regime. By contrast, the incipient Afghan process has its roots in that society, not ours, writes James Dobbins.
REPORT
Prisoner-of-war and detainee operations are a crucial component in the successful prosecution of a conflict — particularly in counterinsurgency operations — and should be upgraded to receive more attention and better advance preparation.
NEWS RELEASE
Prisoner-of-war and detainee operations are a crucial component in the successful prosecution of a conflict -- particularly in counterinsurgency operations -- and should be upgraded to receive more attention and better advance preparation.
REPORT
This volume chronicles RAND's involvement in researching insurgency and counterinsurgency in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand during the Vietnam War era and assesses the effect that this research had on U.S. officials and policies. Elliott draws on interviews with former RAND staff and the many studies that RAND produced on these topics to provide a narrative that captures the tenor of the times and conveys the attitudes and thinking of those…
REPORT
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.
REPORT
Six historic counterinsurgency operations are examined to determine which tactics, techniques, and procedures led to success and which led to failure, with the hope that U.S. counterinsurgency operations in the future can learn from past lessons.
REPORT
Today, American service personnel are deploying at rates not seen since the Vietnam War. Such deployments and activations have raised concerns about their effect on the local economies. The authors of this report use econometric models to analyze the impact of activations and deployments on economic conditions, as measured by changes in employment at the county level.
REPORT
U.S. government decisionmakers face a number of challenges as they attempt to form policies that aim to dissuade terrorists from attacking the United States, divert youths from joining terrorist groups, and persuade the leaders of states and nongovernmental institutions to withhold support for terrorists. The successes or failures of such policies and campaigns have long-lasting effects. The findings of this research help U.S.…
REPORT
Focusing on the embedded press system deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, this book attempts to answer the following questions: How effective was the embedded press system in meeting the needs of the three main constituencies-the press, the military, and the citizens of the United States? What policy history led to the innovation of an embedded press system? Where are press-military relations likely to go in the future?
REPORT
Current U.S. forces have little experience with urban warfare. This report identifies shortfalls in urban combat ground reconnaissance and assists in the creation of urban reconnaissance tactics, techniques, and procedures for the Marine Corps. The authors discuss four challenges: the constant adaptation demanded by the environment, the complexity of ground reconnaissance, the demands of urban operations on military personnel, and the…
REPORT
The sponsors of the fourth annual Urban Operations Conference, held at RAND on March 22-23, 2001, shared a desire to improve the readiness of U.S. and allied armed forces to conduct operations in urban areas, domestically and worldwide. The event featured speakers from the United States, Israel, Jordan, and the United Kingdom.
RESEARCH BRIEF
A new RAND study, Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets: Lessons from Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, examines these conflicts to shed light on how SOF ground teams might be more effectively employed in the future.
REPORT
Examines key developments leading to the deployment of the International Peacekeeping Force for East Timor (INTERFET) and assesses the impact of this intervention on Canberra's future defense, security, and foreign policy planning.
REPORT
Could special operations forces (SOF) lessons learned in Vietnam help it today's international conflicts?
REPORT
The authors examine the role of regional states in developing a hedge against the possible emergence of an overly aggressive China.
REPORT
This report examines ways to maximize the psychological impact of U.S. air power in future conflicts.
REPORT
The objective of this effort was to explore the signatures and vulnerabilities of adversary light forces, to identify promising sensor and weapon technologies applicable to this target set, and to develop new concepts of operation (OPCONs).
REPORT
Most Americans do not want lives to be sacrificed for any but the most compelling and promising causes, and they rely on their leaders to illuminate just how compelling and promising these causes are.
REPORT
This report presents a comprehensive overview of ground attacks on air bases from the first known attacks in 1940 to the most recent in 1992.
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