2013

commentary

What Bangladesh — and US Retailers — Must Do to Prevent Man-Made Tragedies

Perhaps most tragic of all are the disasters that are wholly preventable: the deaths, maimings, and crushed livelihoods that result from human callousness or indifference, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

Paying for Infrastructure, a Taxing Issue

If the user pays idea is worth saving, the United States needs a different calculation, writes Liisa Ecola. Some states are looking at mileage fees. With mileage fees, you pay based on the number of miles you drive, rather than the number of gallons of gas used.

Liisa Ecola

commentary

Drones Are Useful, but Not the Solution or the Problem

The effectiveness of our attacks, particularly by drones, has already decimated the al Qaeda hierarchy, writes Harold Brown. That achievement, together with the negative effect on Muslim publics of drone attacks, suggests that the rate of their usage could be moderated.

Harold Brown

commentary

Turkey and Intervention in Syria

When President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in Washington on May 16, a long list of topics will likely be on the table. The big question, however, is whether anything substantive comes from their discussions of Syria.

Christopher S. Chivvis

commentary

Will Iran's Real Reformists Please Stand Up?

Neither Ahmadinejad nor Mashaei will be the political 'messiahs' many religious and secular Iranians long for, writes Alireza Nader. Much like Khatami and the reformists, figures like Ahmadinejad are willing to challenge the system only to a limited degree.

Alireza Nader

commentary

Learning the Wrong Lessons from Israel's Intervention in Syria

The lesson here is not that countries should act for the sake of maintaining credibility but that they should act when they believe it serves their interests and might make a difference, writes Dalia Dassa Kaye.

Dalia Dassa Kaye

commentary

Advancing Social Outcomes: Private Investors Could Be Part of the Solution

Under a Social Impact Bond, private investors — rather than the government — provide up-front funding for programs that tackle such challenges as recidivism or homelessness. If these programs succeed, the government pays some of the savings back to the investors.

Jennifer Rubin, Emma Disley

blog

At 65, RAND Continues to Make a Difference

To celebrate our first 60 years, we created '60 Ways RAND Has Made a Difference,' an online book to illustrate our most notable contributions. On our 65th birthday, we provide five of the most recent ways in which we at RAND are proud to have made a difference.

commentary

Crowd-sourcing Our Security

Involvement can transform members of the public from helpless bystanders into active participants in their own defense, thereby reducing fear and alarm, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Libya Needs U.S. Help for Security

By adopting a laissez-faire policy toward security in Libya after the war, the United States and its allies who helped the Libyan rebels topple Gadhafi share in the responsibility for the country’s current predicament, writes Christopher Chivvis.

Christopher S. Chivvis

commentary

H7N9 Bird Flu — Health Authorities Are Prepared, but Must Stay on High Alert

Having dealt with outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu and other communicable diseases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and H1N1 swine flu in 2009, health officials are now far better prepared to detect new diseases early and react quickly to monitor and contain their spread.

Melinda Moore

commentary

How to Avert a Sea Catastrophe with China

The United States should propose and pursue an East Asian maritime partnership, inviting to join all states that share its interest in assured access and passage, writes David Gompert.

David C. Gompert

commentary

The Value of Uncertainty: Assessing Global Societal Trends

When planning for the future, we should understand that the capacity to predict the future is rather limited and poor. Rather, an ability to anticipate plausible trends and their potential consequences is more realistic, writes Stijn Hoorens.

Stijn Hoorens @StijnHoorens

blog

Pakistan Elections: More Continuity Than Change

This weekend's elections in Pakistan are more likely to yield continuity than change, an outcome that could offer some opportunities for enhanced engagement between Washington and Islamabad, a pair of RAND experts told reporters on April 6.

blog

For RAND's Dobbins, a New Diplomatic Mission

President Obama named Ambassador James F. Dobbins, a veteran diplomat and the current director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center, as his special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.