December 2013

Terrorist Bombings
commentary
Why Did Terrorists Attack Volgograd?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Dec 31, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
The Volgograd attacks have brought renewed world attention to the unresolved conflict in the turbulent Caucasus. The bombings no doubt have rattled Russian nerves. While Umarov's reputation among extremists will rise, President Putin's reputation as defender of Russia is at stake.
Read More »

Affordable Care Act
blog
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Positive Opinion on the ACA Continues to Rise
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Dec 30, 2013
The latest data from the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study indicates that positive opinion of the ACA continues to increase. The overall favorable rating is now as high as it was in late September, prior to the opening of the health insurance exchanges.
Read More »
Wildfires
commentary
Investing in Firefighting
Edward G. Keating, Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Daniel M. Norton, Dulani Woods
Dec 30, 2013
The Orange County Register
While the U.S. Forest Service has not completely agreed with RAND's proposal to transition to a fleet dominated by water-dropping scooper aircraft for fighting fires, they have leased one CL-415 scooper aircraft. It might be more cost-effective for the USFS to simply purchase it outright.
Read More »
Obesity
commentary
Five Myths About Obesity
Deborah A. Cohen
Dec 27, 2013
The Washington Post
The obesity epidemic is among the most critical health issues facing the United States. Although it has generated a lot of attention and calls for solutions, it also has served up a super-sized portion of myths and misunderstandings.
Read More »
International Diplomacy
commentary
China, the United States, and Great Power Diplomacy
Paul D. Miller
Dec 27, 2013
Foreign Policy
The United States doesn't care about a few islands half a world away, but it should care about how China throws its weight around, how it relates to its neighbors, and what it thinks it can get away with.
Read More »
Iran
commentary
A 'Nixon to China' Moment with Iran?
Richard H. Solomon
Dec 24, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
The current negotiations with Iran designed to eliminate its nuclear weapons capability seem to lack a broader strategic objective: stabilizing the Middle East with a regional balance of power. What does the China experience tell us about prospects for a strategic breakthrough with Iran?
Read More »
Fighter Aircraft
commentary
Do Joint Fighter Programs Save Money?
Mark A. Lorell
Dec 24, 2013
The RAND Blog
Joint aircraft programs have not historically saved overall life cycle cost. On average, such programs experienced substantially higher cost growth in acquisition (research, development, test, evaluation, and procurement) than single-service programs.
Read More »
Ukraine
commentary
Preserving Ukraine's European Choice
F. Stephen Larrabee
Dec 24, 2013
The RAND Blog and GlobalSecurity.org
The United States and the EU have a strong stake in keeping open a European option for Ukraine. A reorientation of Ukrainian policy back toward Russia would shift the strategic balance in Europe and have a negative impact on the prospects for democratic change on Europe's eastern periphery.
Read More »
Afghanistan
commentary
Presidential Candidates Need Multiethnic Consensus
Seth G. Jones
Dec 23, 2013
Council on Foreign Relations
While many policymakers and analysts focus on who will be the next president of Afghanistan, the more important question may be whether the country's Pashtun, Uzbek, Tajik, Hazara, and other major constituencies will support the 2014 election's outcome.
Read More »
Affordable Care Act
blog
RAND Health Reform Opinion Study Update: Positive Opinion on ACA Grows, Negative Opinion Stabilizes
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Dec 23, 2013
Last week we introduced the RAND Health Reform Opinion Study, a new way to measure public opinion of the Affordable Care Act. Negative opinion about the ACA seems to be stabilizing, while positive opinion is increasing. Those undecided about the ACA are decreasing.
Read More »
Syria
commentary
Should the United States End Assistance to Syria's Rebels?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Dec 23, 2013
The RAND Blog and GlobalSecurity.org
The American investment in Syria thus far can be accurately described as timid and minimal. The United States can do more to assist the rebels without directly using American military power or sliding into a strategy of escalation.
Read More »
Russia
commentary
Putin's Pardons
Olga Oliker
Dec 23, 2013
The RAND Blog and GlobalSecurity.org
Few, if any, think that the amnesties just announced are a sea change in Russian domestic policy. Some speculate that they are an effort to dampen criticism of Russian human rights abuses, especially the anti-gay law, as Russia gears up for the Sochi Olympics this February.
Read More »
Diet and Eating Habits
commentary
'Tis the Season to Be Wary
Deborah A. Cohen
Dec 23, 2013
The RAND Blog
During the holiday season, a time when overindulgence is a tradition for many, food marketing creates especially serious challenges for people trying to limit their intake and make careful decisions about healthier eating.
Read More »
Ukraine
commentary
Ukraine's Murky Future
Olga Oliker
Dec 19, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
While some see Ukraine choosing between European-style democracy and economic, political, and cultural backwardness in Russia's shadow, the fact is that Ukraine faces a difficult and murky path in any direction. The country is in dire financial straits, needing billions in loans to avoid bankruptcy.
Read More »
Affordable Care Act
commentary
A New Way to Measure Public Opinion of Health Reform
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman
Dec 18, 2013
The RAND Blog
Whether the public will begin to settle on an overall positive or negative perception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is very much an open question. But understanding how opinion of the law evolves over time could offer valuable insight into Americans' appetite both for the ACA and for health reform more broadly.
Read More »
European Union
commentary
A Long-Term View for the EU: The Health of Nations
Stijn Hoorens @StijnHoorens
Dec 18, 2013
The RAND Blog
By shifting the strategic focus beyond growth and jobs, the successor of the current Europe 2020 Strategy should aim to invest in human capital and avoid sluggish productivity growth achieved at the expense of social inclusion, public health, education and skills, security or freedom.
Read More »