The RAND Blog

June 2009

  • Pakistan

    commentary

    Policing Pakistan

    C. Christine Fair

    Jun 30, 2009

    Wall Street Journal Asia

    The United States has spent some $12 billion trying to help Pakistan save itself. Unfortunately, Washington has lavished most of the aid on the Pakistan army. It is time to reconsider that decision and focus instead on improving the country's police force, writes C. Christine Fair.

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  • Recidivism

    commentary

    Can Gitmo's Terrorists Be Rehabilitated?

    Aidan Kirby Winn

    Jun 29, 2009

    The Christian Science Monitor

    Before he closes Guantánamo, Obama must take a clear-eyed look at the record – and anticipate the next chapter of the fight against terrorism. What happens to terrorist suspects after they leave the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, writes Aidan Kirby Winn.

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  • Health Insurance Cost Sharing

    commentary

    The Public Option: Sorting Rhetoric from Reality

    Elizabeth A. McGlynn

    Jun 24, 2009

    ABC News

    President Obama and several Congressional leaders have recently expressed support for the idea of allowing citizens to buy into a public insurance program as part of any health reform legislation. The intensity of the ensuing debate has been fascinating given the lack of specifics that have been offered by either side, writes Elizabeth A. McGlynn.

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  • Health and Wellness Promotion

    commentary

    Improve Health, Not the Health Care System

    Dana P. Goldman

    Jun 23, 2009

    NYTimes.com

    One reason that health reform proposals always seem to fail is that proponents promise too much. Reformers declare they will improve quality, lower costs and increase access — all at the same time. This mantra is repeated so often that the public tends to believe it is possible, when really it isn't, writes Dana P. Goldman.

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  • Iran

    commentary

    Iran's Real Winners: The Revolutionary Guards

    Alireza Nader

    Jun 22, 2009

    RAND.org

    Despite the huge protests on the streets of Tehran, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has once again triumphed. A relative newcomer to Iranian politics, Ahmadinejad's re-election and subsequent crackdown on the demonstrators suggest that the Iranian political system is moving in a new and potentially dangerous direction, writes Alireza Nader.

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  • commentary

    The Science of Health Care Reform

    Robert H. Brook

    Jun 17, 2009

    The Journal of the American Medical Association

    It is time for physicians to commit as a profession to helping the President and Congress achieve the vision of a new health care system by improving the way medicine is practiced, writes Robert Brook.

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  • Security Cooperation

    commentary

    Getting Value from the U.S.-ROK Summit

    Bruce W. Bennett

    Jun 15, 2009

    The Korea Herald

    For months, North Korea has been trying to upstage the summit between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama that is scheduled for June 16. Almost all Americans I know have heard of these North Korean provocations. But few have heard anything about the U.S.-ROK summit, writes Bruce Bennett.

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  • commentary

    BRIC-à-Brac

    Andrew S. Weiss

    Jun 15, 2009

    ForeignPolicy.com

    The leaders of the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—hold their first stand-alone summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Tuesday, June 16. The timing of the BRIC summit, just a few weeks before U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Moscow and the G-8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, is hardly accidental, writes Andrew S. Weiss.

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  • Security Cooperation

    commentary

    Lebanon Vote Tilts to the West

    Aram Nerguizian, Ghassan Schbley

    Jun 10, 2009

    The Washington Times

    The result of Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lebanon is a boon for the United States, but it also presents a challenge. The U.S. would be well-advised to play for the long term in Lebanon with a pragmatic policy that deals with the reality of Hezbollah's political power while continuing to strengthen moderate forces and national institutions, write Aram Nerguizian and Ghassan Schbley.

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  • Lebanon

    commentary

    Living with the Outcome: Elections in Lebanon

    Aram Nerguizian, Ghassan Schbley

    Jun 5, 2009

    GlobalSecurity.org

    Lebanon is scheduled to hold elections Sunday [June 7], and the pro-Western political alliance favored by the United States may lose. If it does, the Obama Administration should not consider the result a triumph for Hezbollah, but a challenge, write Aram Nerguizian and Ghassan Schbley.

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  • Nuclear Deterrence

    commentary

    No Surprise in Failure to Deter N. Korea

    Bruce W. Bennett

    Jun 2, 2009

    Chicago Tribune

    North Korea's latest misbehavior highlights an uncomfortable truth: the failure of the United States and the international community to deter North Korean actions. In this case, it is pretty easy to see why North Korea has not been deterred, writes Bruce Bennett.

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  • International Diplomacy

    commentary

    Rethink Washington's 'War of Ideas'

    Christopher Paul

    Jun 2, 2009

    The Christian Science Monitor

    The term

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