2015

Hurricanes
blog
Hurricane Katrina: 10 Years After the Storm
Aug 27, 2015
This weekend marks 10 years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. As the region struggled to cope and rebuild after the storm, RAND experts worked on solutions to the region's long-term challenges.
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Iran
commentary
A Better Deal for Iran
Dalia Dassa Kaye
Aug 24, 2015
The Hill
It is critical for lawmakers to understand there will be serious consequences for rejecting the Iran deal. And those consequences look a lot worse for the United States and its partners than for Iran.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Afghanistan, Choose Your Enemies Wisely
Jeffrey Eggers
Aug 24, 2015
Foreign Policy
The Taliban's new leadership may be the last decent opportunity for a political solution to the conflict. Without a solution, the Islamic State could make Afghanistan the next Iraq or Syria.
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Afghanistan
commentary
In Afghanistan, the Glass Is Still Better Seen as Half Full: A Response to Gary Owen
Stephen Watts, Sean Mann
Aug 24, 2015
Lawfare
While things are certainly not “great” in Afghanistan, there are more reasons for hope than many had expected to see by this point in the transition from a large U.S. presence to a greatly reduced one.
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United States
essay
Interdependence Day: Contending with a New Global Order
Aug 21, 2015
A team of RAND experts took a sober look at the threats facing the United States and developed a playbook of strategies to address them.
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commentary
China at Home: Marrying Prosperity and Well-Being
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich
Aug 21, 2015
The RAND Blog
As China strives to sustain its upward economic trajectory, it must also address its domestic problems—such as its air pollution and the challenges presented by its aging population—if its people are to share fully in the rewards of economic development and expansion.
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Public Health Preparedness
commentary
Control Disease in a New York Minute
Shoshana R. Shelton, Melinda Moore
Aug 20, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Legionella bacteria are ubiquitous in many warm-water environments, but outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease like the recent one in the South Bronx don't have to be. Effective public health policies and practices can help inhibit Legionella growth, minimize the occurrence and impact of outbreaks, and save lives.
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Nation Building
commentary
20 Years Later, the Lessons of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Aug 19, 2015
FOX News Channel
U.S. intervention in Bosnia ended the fighting, bought time for a political solution to be reached, and halted the humanitarian crisis. But 20 years later, the prospects for lasting peace and a true multiethnic society to emerge in Bosnia are not encouraging.
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Nation Building
commentary
One State Over the Status Quo
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Aug 18, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
If the next U.S. administration were to conclude that perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian status quo for another eight years was unacceptable or unachievable, it might begin speaking of the one-state solution not as its preferred outcome, but as one more acceptable than no solution at all.
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Alcohol
commentary
Is Concern About Powdered Alcohol Distracting from More Serious Drinking Problems?
Kimberly A. Hepner @KimberlyHepner
Aug 17, 2015
New York Daily News
Powdered alcohol is at this point a curiosity, not a threat. Americans should be more worried about the health problems caused by widespread misuse of liquid alcohol.
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Military Intelligence
commentary
Loose Clicks Sink Ships: When Social Media Meets Military Intelligence
Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung, Olga Oliker
Aug 14, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Social media updates can reveal military intelligence. But stopping a soldier from posting a geotagged tweet or Instagram photo presents challenges.
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Health Insurance Mandates
commentary
The Ramifications of Repealing the Individual Mandate
Evan Saltzman, Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner
Aug 13, 2015
The Commonwealth Fund Blog
As part of its goal of near-universal coverage, the Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. Repealing that requirement would significantly reduce health insurance enrollment and cause individual market premiums to rise.
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commentary
Eurasia Facing Tough Choices for the Future
William Courtney @courtneywmh
Aug 13, 2015
The Moscow Times
There is much to be said for Eurasia's rich ethnic, national, religious, and cultural diversity. In the economic sphere, however, Eurasians should reassess bad habits, such as weak property rights, centralized state control, and associated corruption.
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Pakistan
commentary
Pakistan's Shocking Strategic Shift
Sameer Lalwani
Aug 12, 2015
The National Interest
Pakistan's security policies have experienced striking but underappreciated shifts since 2001 along three dimensions: aggressive behavior, strategic orientation, and self-examination. These shifts warrant a reexamination by international security analysts of their of assumptions about Pakistan and their theories of strategic stability and instability in South Asia.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Algeria: The Bastion of North Africa
Christopher S. Chivvis, Amanda Kadlec
Aug 11, 2015
The National Interest
Algeria could be a key regional partner for the United States and France in security and counterterrorism efforts against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. It has a clear interest in quelling the threat posed by regional jihadists and it has local knowledge that could be helpful to U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
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