August 2013

commentary

The Skinny on the Freshman 15

Colleges should acknowledge their responsibility not to put their students at risk for weight gain, obesity and the host of chronic diseases related to poor diets, writes Deborah Cohen. Students have to make their own food choices, but it's colleges who're setting the table.

Deborah A. Cohen

commentary

Reading the Tea Leaves in Iraq

The United States should not be too quick to write off Iraq based on recent violent trends, says Jason Campbell. After all, if there is anything that should be remembered from years past it's that the Iraqi populace can endure astonishing levels of violence and still maintain confidence in the survival of the state.

Jason H. Campbell @JasonHCampbell

commentary

Don't Buy the Cyberhype

Although the risk of a debilitating cyberattack is real, the perception of that risk is far greater than it actually is, writes Martin Libicki. In fact, a major cyberattack of the kind intelligence officials fear has not taken place in the 21 years since the Internet became accessible to the public.

Martin C. Libicki

blog

Things Could Get Worse in Egypt

As terrible as yesterday was in Egypt, things could get worse, says Jeffrey Martini, a RAND Middle East analyst. While the military-ruled government appears to be trying to break the neck of the Muslim Brotherhood, one shoe that hasn't dropped is the arrest of senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

blog

Early Planning Key to Effective Summer Learning Programs

RAND education experts Jennifer McCombs and Catherine Augustine hosted a news media conference call to discuss the best steps school districts can take to provide the most effective and rewarding summer learning programs.

q&a

Surprise: Q and A with Dave Baiocchi and D. Steven Fox

Dave Baiocchi, RAND senior engineer and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and assistant policy analyst D. Steven Fox discuss their new study,

commentary

How Electronic Health Records Can Lead to Care Coordination

Inadequate care coordination is a major problem in health care delivery, but information technology is emerging as an important tool for enhancing coordination and, ultimately, improving the delivery of care, writes Robert Rudin.

Robert S. Rudin @rsrudin

commentary

New Approach to Prison and the War on Drugs

If you want to reduce cocaine consumption and drug-related crime, you get more bang for the buck if you put money into treatment rather than paying for the increase in incarceration produced by federal mandatory minimum sentences, writes Beau Kilmer.

Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer

commentary

A Last Chance for Iran's Pragmatists

Rouhani's new government is not pro-Western by any stretch of the imagination, writes Alireza Nader. But its political interests and Iran's current predicament provide a unique opportunity to solve the nuclear crisis peacefully.

Alireza Nader

commentary

What Did Edward Snowden Get Wrong? Everything

Unfortunately, during the Snowden affair, many news outlets have spent more time examining ways the government could abuse the information it has access to while giving scant mention to the lengths to which the intelligence community goes to protect privacy, writes Andrew Liepman.

Andrew Liepman

commentary

Signs of New Life in Northern Iraq

For a region that has seen decades of strife, Kurdistan is emerging as “the other Iraq,” a place where progress is marked by the opening of new shopping malls and the pouring of concrete at countless construction sites.

Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson

commentary

Japan's Sun May Be Rising

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plans for reviving Japan’s economy after two decades of stagnation differ sharply from the policies pursued by the United States and the European Union to recover from the deep recession of 2008-2009.

Charles Wolf, Jr.

blog

The Snowden Affair: Questions and Answers with Olga Oliker

There is an element of hypocrisy in Russian officials and pundits lauding Snowden as a human rights hero for his actions, says Olga Oliker, when Russia itself has a terrible record on free political speech.

commentary

Escalation Cause: How the Pentagon's New Strategy Could Trigger War with China

David C. Gompert, Terrence Kelly

commentary

Embassy Closings and the al Qaeda Threat

Many people, including President Obama, have talked about al Qaeda’s imminent defeat. But right now, all signs indicate that the group founded by Osama bin Laden is far from dead.

Seth G. Jones