From the RAND Blog

Below, you'll find the most recent commentary from RAND experts on topics related to Asia. For a complete list of all commentaries by RAND staff, visit The RAND Blog.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Countering the Military's Latest Fad: Counterinsurgency

    May 17, 2009

    When Defense Secretary Gates announced that he was dismissing Gen. McKiernan as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and replacing him with Lt. Gen. McChrystal, he signaled his support for an intellectual movement that in a few short years has come to dominate military thinking in Washington, writes Celeste Ward.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    The U.S. and India Need to Work Together to Prepare for an Increasingly Chaotic Pakistan

    May 12, 2009

    For every good reason, the Obama Administration is devoting enormous thought to Pakistan. In my judgment, the evolving situation in Pakistan is potentially the most dangerous international situation since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, writes Robert D. Blackwill.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    South Asia's Taliban Problem: Multiple Threats From Multiple Groups

    Apr 14, 2009

    For India, the development of a conducive environment on its western flank for groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad has already resulted in sophisticated terrorist attacks on Indian soil. While there is good reason for India and its neighbors to be concerned, there is considerable misunderstanding of the threat, writes Seth Jones.

  • Multimedia

    Multimedia

    New Strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan (Inside Story, Al Jazeera)

    Mar 30, 2009

    In an Al Jazeera Inside Story report, RAND expert Cheryl Benard and two other analysts provide insights into the Obama Administration's new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Ultimate Exit Strategy

    Mar 26, 2009

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described the upcoming high-level conference on Afghanistan at The Hague as a "big-tent meeting, with all the parties who have a stake and an interest in Afghanistan." With the situation in that country growing more precarious by the day, those attending this meeting must also think big, write Karl F. Inderfurth and James Dobbins.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Power to the People: Rebooting Conventional Diplomacy

    Feb 27, 2009

    The story of how President Obama engineered a grass-roots campaign, mobilizing formerly disengaged U.S. citizens with new media and new technologies, has reached almost mythological proportions. Less well known is the story of similar grass-roots efforts emerging in local communities around the world, write Cherl Benard and Edward O'Connell.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Obama's Foreign Policy Team and U.S.-Korean Relations

    Feb 16, 2009

    The concrete contours of President Obama's foreign policy team have finally begun to emerge. What is intriguing is how many assignments are being given to those who have worked on the Korean peninsula, writes Chaibong Hahm.

  • Commentary

    Commentary

    Asia's Nonproliferation Laggards: China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia

    Feb 9, 2009

    The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction ranks as one of the biggest challenges facing the Obama administration. Luckily, Mr. Obama has a tool to combat this threat, in the form of the Proliferation Security Initiative.... The trick now will be to convince key Asian countries to participate, writes Charles Wolf Jr.