The RAND Blog

June 2009

Pakistan

commentary
Policing Pakistan
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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Jun 30, 2009
Wall Street Journal Asia
C. Christine Fair
Recidivism

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Can Gitmo's Terrorists Be Rehabilitated?
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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Jun 29, 2009
The Christian Science Monitor
Aidan Kirby Winn
Health Insurance Cost Sharing

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The Public Option: Sorting Rhetoric from Reality
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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Jun 24, 2009
ABC News
Elizabeth A. McGlynn
Health and Wellness Promotion

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Improve Health, Not the Health Care System
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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Jun 23, 2009
NYTimes.com
Dana P. Goldman
Iran

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Iran's Real Winners: The Revolutionary Guards
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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Jun 22, 2009
RAND.org
Alireza Nader
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The Science of Health Care Reform
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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Jun 17, 2009
The Journal of the American Medical Association
Robert H. Brook
Security Cooperation

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Getting Value from the U.S.-ROK Summit
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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Jun 15, 2009
The Korea Herald
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
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BRIC-à-Brac
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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Jun 15, 2009
ForeignPolicy.com
Andrew S. Weiss
Security Cooperation

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Lebanon Vote Tilts to the West
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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Jun 10, 2009
The Washington Times
Aram Nerguizian, Ghassan Schbley
Lebanon

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Living with the Outcome: Elections in Lebanon
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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Jun 5, 2009
GlobalSecurity.org
Aram Nerguizian, Ghassan Schbley
Nuclear Deterrence

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No Surprise in Failure to Deter N. Korea
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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Jun 2, 2009
Chicago Tribune
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
International Diplomacy

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Rethink Washington's 'War of Ideas'
The term
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Jun 2, 2009
The Christian Science Monitor
Christopher Paul