2015

Politics and Government
commentary
Congress Should Monitor Iran Deal, Not Keep Trying to Kill It
Larry Hanauer
Sep 12, 2015
The Hill
If Iranian compliance with the nuclear accord is Congress's goal, then legislators should focus on ensuring that the deal is effectively implemented.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
ISIS Plus Chemical Weapons Does Not Equal Apocalypse
Scott Savitz
Sep 11, 2015
Newsweek
The renewed use of chemical weapons on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria is a dangerous regional phenomenon, not an imminent global threat.
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Military Strategy
commentary
How to Lose a Civil War: Lessons for Afghanistan and Syria
James T. Quinlivan
Sep 10, 2015
War on the Rocks
Recently, both Syria and Afghanistan have seen battles that demonstrate anew the potential risks of seeking to defend exposed positions. Syrian leaders seem to have recognized that there are limits to the amount of territory its military can hold. Afghanistan's leaders would be well advised to come to the same conclusion.
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Military Force Planning
commentary
U.S. Needs Larger Army, Not a Smaller One
Timothy M. Bonds, Michael Johnson
Sep 9, 2015
Army Times
To meet potential challenges in the Baltics and Korea while at the same time countering the existing terror threat posed by the Islamic State group and dealing with other problems that will doubtless emerge, the United States would need more troops, not less.
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Terrorist Organizations
commentary
How to Defeat a New Boko Haram in Mali
Michael Shurkin @MichaelShurkin
Sep 8, 2015
Newsweek
While there is a need for stepped up military and police efforts against the self-proclaimed Macina Liberation Front, Mali's policymakers and their international partners need to focus on countering revivalist Islam, ideally by promoting Mali's other Islamic traditions, while finding ways to calm the inter-communal competition.
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Community Resilience
commentary
What Hurricane Katrina Taught Us About Community Resilience
Alonzo L. Plough, Anita Chandra
Sep 8, 2015
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health blog
Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction, death, and suffering in its wake. Its recovery, halting and incomplete as it has been, has taught us valuable lessons about resiliency.
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Employment Legislation
commentary
One in Five Hourly Employees Working Overtime Not Properly Compensated
Susann Rohwedder, Jeffrey B. Wenger
Sep 4, 2015
The RAND Blog
Most laws as old as the Fair Labor Standards Act regularly need tuning up. But its overtime provisions are complicated because some workers are exempt from being covered. A survey of more than 1,500 employed adults finds that employers are violating the rules.
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Telemedicine
commentary
Paying for Telemedicine
Shira H. Fischer @ShiraFischer
Sep 3, 2015
The RAND Blog
Telehealth, delivering health services and information via technology, holds great promise. But more information is needed to determine what works and what doesn't.
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China
commentary
China's Military Parade Highlights Its New Strategic Capabilities
Michael S. Chase
Sep 3, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
China's elaborate military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II showcased some of the People's Liberation Army's newest high-tech weapons.
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Cybersecurity
commentary
Is It Time to Appoint a Data Security Czar?
Susan S. Sohler Everingham, Lillian Ablon
Sep 3, 2015
Newsweek
Cybersecurity needs to become more of a priority for the government and private corporations. Whatever the solution, public and private officials need to do a better job of weighing the risk-benefit calculation of storing data on Internet-accessible computers and justifying data-handling protocols.
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Cybersecurity
announcement
RAND Hosts Cybersecurity Exercise
Sep 3, 2015
The discussion of cybersecurity should not be trapped within narrow technical, national security, or legal stovepipes and should include an examination of economic, civil, and societal factors. With that goal in mind, RAND hosted an analytic exercise on cybersecurity.
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Title I (Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
commentary
How School Choice Could Disadvantage Low-Income Students
Andrew McEachin @AJMcEachin, Brian M. Stecher, Grace Evans
Sep 1, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
The flexibility to allow Title I-A funds to follow students across schools has a certain appeal. But it could have negative consequences for some of the poorest students.
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Terrorist Organizations
commentary
The Strategic Value of Terrorism
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Aug 31, 2015
The Cipher Brief
While terrorists and criminals joining forces is certainly a scary thought, it's nothing new and not something that works as simply in practice as it does on a white board. Still, it's a threat worth watching.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
The Only Iran Deal Alternative Worth Considering
Alireza Nader
Aug 30, 2015
The National Interest
Now is the time for Washington to prove its leadership and implement the Iran nuclear deal. The alternative is a major diplomatic defeat for America and an unrestricted Iranian nuclear program.
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North Korea
commentary
Why Kim Jong Un Fears South Korean Propaganda
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Aug 28, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
While the latest confrontation between North and South Korea appears to be ending peacefully, it provides insight into future North Korean provocations. Words as weapons can work when they are aimed at North Korea's internal politics and backed up by a strong South Korean response supported by the U.S.
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