October 2013

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What's in a Name? Calling Obesity a Disease Could Help Improve Chronic Disease Outcomes

The American Medical Association officially designated obesity as a disease, hoping to help change the way doctors approach the issue with their patients, increase funding for research on effective treatments, spur insurers to cover prescription weight loss medications, and maybe even help de-stigmatize the condition.

Sydne J. Newberry

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Syria As We Know It Is Gone

Other than as a geographic expression, Syria has ceased to exist, writes Brian Michael Jenkins. With Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah support, Bashar Assad's forces, at the moment, appear to have gained the initiative over a fragmented rebel movement.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

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Missing a Young Friend in a Changed Kabul

Friends have gone home or on to other wars. Reports of crime are on the rise in a city once safe, save for the occasional bombing. Afghans still call their government a “mafia” but have stopped asking me what the United States is going to do to fix it, writes Rebecca Zimmerman.

S. Rebecca Zimmerman

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Zero-Sum Enrichment

Sanctions have taken a heavy toll on the Iranian economy, and the Islamic Republic may finally be motivated to take steps to rein in its nuclear program, including accepting limits on uranium enrichment, in exchange for lessening the pressure.

Colin H. Kahl, Alireza Nader

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Somali Piracy All About Economics

The average Somali lives on less than $2 a day. Even fishermen, who are comparatively well off by national standards, face difficulties making a living due to the chronic depletion of sea stocks from years of poaching and illegal dumping of toxic waste. Under such circumstances, the allure of piracy is clear.

Peter Chalk

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Libya Needs Outside Help to Avoid Perpetual War

If steps are not taken to get control of security, there is little hope for Libya's future. Qaddafi's fateful warning that Libya would become a “Somalia on the Mediterranean” without him could come true. The investment that NATO and its partners made in toppling Qaddafi would then be almost entirely wasted.

Christopher S. Chivvis

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Do U.S. Raids in Libya, Somalia Signal a Shift in Terror Strategy?

The raids that the United States conducted over the weekend in Libya and Somalia could signal a new focus in Washington on capturing terrorist suspects and gathering intelligence rather than relying on drone strikes. RAND experts Linda Robinson, Angel Rabasa, and Seth Jones comment.

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The Strategy Behind China's Aid Expansion

Between 2001 and 2011, China's pledged foreign aid was $671 billion. In all regions and countries, China's assistance focuses on the development of natural resources, principally energy-related (coal, oil, and gas). Both parties presumably benefit from China's aid but both are also exposed to added risks and hidden costs.

Charles Wolf, Jr.

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Opt-In, Opt-Out; Why Not Forced Choice?

By default, browsers generally are set to automatically allow online tracking, but there may be a better way to make sure consumers decide whether or not they want to allow advertisers to sniff at their digital footprints, writes Steven Isley.

Steven C. Isley

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Weather Forecasts, and Our Trust in Them, Need to Improve

When scientists predict extreme weather that never materializes, lay people tend to wonder what went wrong. This is a natural tendency that is not tied to a failure of the science, but rather to differences in the way scientists and lay people view predictions about extreme events.

Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih

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The Passing of Vietnam Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap

The passing of Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap marks the end of an era for Vietnam — and for giants of the twentieth-century anti-colonial movement throughout the world. As commander of the Viet Minh and the Vietnam People's Army, his strategies led to successes against France and the U.S. that were regarded as among communism's finest military moments.

Jonah Blank

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How to Improve the Way Medical Research Is Applied in Frontline Care

Many people assume that it is enough to present clinicians and managers with the results of medical research for them to adopt those techniques that work best. This is quite untrue. The scale and pace of medical advance poses a continual challenge, and there is often a gap between recommended care and actual care received.

Bryony Soper, Ellen Nolte

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China's ASEAN Outreach

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for greater cooperation between his country and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during remarks delivered Oct. 3 before the Indonesian parliament. But Angel Rabasa, a RAND senior political scientist, says improved relations between China and its neighbors will depend more on action than on words.

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Removing Road Blocks to Climate Change Adaptation Planning

Despite increasing interest and investments in climate adaptation science, the implementation of adaptation plans through institutional policies or other actions designed to reduce health vulnerabilities has been slow. Institutionalized assumptions are an important roadblock.

Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih

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Medicaid Access for the Formerly Incarcerated Under the ACA: Helping the Oft-Forgotten

America's prison population tends to be sicker than the general population. While Medicaid eligibility under the ACA offers an historic opportunity, enrolling the formerly incarcerated into the health exchanges or Medicaid will be neither simple nor straightforward.

Lois M. Davis @LoisMDavis