2017

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What a 1963 Novel Tells Us About the French Army, Mission Command, and the Romance of the Indochina War

The novel La 317e Section (The 317th Platoon) informs and reflects an operating style rooted in the French Army's collective memory of the colonial wars. Colonial operations tended to be low-budget, small-footprint missions that placed junior officers in positions of considerable authority and responsibility. Service promised quick glory but was also more dangerous.

Michael Shurkin

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The Lack of Clarity Over Medical Support for Light Footprint Operations and How It Could Be Solved

Early identification and planning for medical support for EU-led military operations are vital to saving lives, treating injuries and keeping personnel healthy. Common standards would ensure high-quality and consistent medical support regardless of which country is providing it.

Susanne Sondergaard, Marta Kepe @martakepe

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How Hezbollah Came to Dominate Information Warfare

Hezbollah's information warfare portfolio includes newspapers, social media outlets, television programming, and a major internet presence. Its websites reflect the group's diverse agenda and aim to be multi-generational in their approach, offering information about social services as well as a video game to engage youth.

Colin P. Clarke

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Europe's Hour Is Here

Since World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom have played disproportionate roles in dealing with Russia. Now continental Europe must assume more of the burden in advancing Western values and interests with an unpredictable and at times unruly Moscow.

Denis Corboy, William Courtney @courtneywmh, et al.

blog

Exploring the Challenges Facing American Workers

A panel of experts at RAND discussed changes in the U.S. economy and findings from a survey that asked more than 3,000 Americans about issues they face in the workplace. Frequent hostility, rising inequality, slow wage growth, and changes in the demand for certain skills are some of the issues affecting workers.

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Helping Small Businesses Deal with Cyber Threats

Small businesses are especially vulnerable to cyber threats. What can be done to provide small businesses the security to continue to prosper, while enhancing America's cybersecurity workforce and making the economy more secure?

Quentin E. Hodgson @QHodgson

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Funders Using Bibliometrics Should Keep It Simple

Avoiding information overload is crucial for research grant decisions. The right guidance and training to panel members can help them make the most of bibliometrics as an evaluation tool to assist their decisions on research funding.

Salil Gunashekar, Susan Guthrie

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Sahel Governments Need More Security Assistance

Developments in the Sahel are cause for alarm. Despite the presence of an active French counterterrorism force and a UN peacekeeping mission, al Qaeda groups are thriving. The region would benefit from approaches that combine police and military operations with economic development and improved governance.

Michael Shurkin

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Chinese Bomber Flights Around Taiwan: For What Purpose?

Recent bomber flights near Taiwan represent the most concerted training regimen yet aimed at improving Chinese airpower. China seeks to enhance the PLA Air Force's capabilities and signal Beijing's will to defend its territorial claims against the U.S. and its regional allies and partners, especially Taiwan and Japan.

Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, et al.

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Joint Military Exercises Distract from Complex Russia-Belarus Relationship

Analysts and military leaders have concerns that Russia will use the Zapad 2017 exercise in Belarus as a smokescreen to put personnel and equipment in place, and keep it there. But the deep ties and history of cooperation between the two states make the chances of that happening unlikely.

Bruce McClintock @BHMcClintock, Bilyana Lilly

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The Early Bird Catches the Worm? Probably Not, Says Science on School Start Times

School start times are becoming a hotly debated topic across the United States. Starting middle and high schools at 8:30 a.m. would improve teen health, and the economic benefits of this shift would likely outweigh the costs.

Marco Hafner, Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel

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Why Houstonians Didn't Buy Flood Insurance

Thousands of Houston-area homeowners will face massive, uninsured losses due to flood damage. Few homeowners buy flood insurance unless they are required to, and it's only mandatory for homes with mortgages located in FEMA-defined high-risk flood zones. People tend to ignore low-probability risks.

Lloyd Dixon, Noreen Clancy

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Rethinking Disaster Evacuation

Before a storm hits, officials must decide whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. Other, more targeted choices — such as sheltering in safer locations within a city — could be available if an analytic basis for making such judgments were fully developed.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Andrew Lauland

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Beyond Strategic Patience with North Korea: What Comes Next?

North Korea says that nuclear weapons are essential to regime survival. The United States should figure out how to persuade the North Korean regime that it is less likely to survive by posing a nuclear threat than by cooperating with the international community.

Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett

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What Were China's Objectives in the Doklam Dispute?

A recent military standoff on the Doklam Plateau was the most serious confrontation between China and India in a generation. It holds lessons for nations interested in Beijing's global strategic calculus.

Jonah Blank