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Featured Commentary

RAND researchers often write commentaries for publications on a variety of topics. This page lists recent commentaries and op-eds about the Middle East. For a complete list of commentaries and op-eds by RAND staff, visit the RAND Blog.

Displaced in Gaza: The Least-Bad Option
There is currently no good option for protecting civilians amid the Israel-Hamas war. But the least-bad option is to keep civilians in southern Gaza—and provide protection and humanitarian assistance where they are.
Dec 4, 2023
BBC's Gaza Service Demonstrates Power of Radio During Conflict
Radio has long been used during conflicts to relay news and information when all other means of communication are knocked out of service. The U.S. Agency for Global Media could follow the lead of the BBC World Service and establish a pop-up station to provide safety and supply updates, emergency medical information, and news to the people in Gaza.
Nov 28, 2023
From the Ashes of Hamas-Israel War, Can Economics Drive Peace?
The economic costs of the violence in Gaza threaten Israel's economic future. For the Palestinians, the costs may be so large that they undermine the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. But the magnitude of these economic losses may, paradoxically, forge a new pathway toward peace once the fighting stops.
Nov 28, 2023
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Nov 22, 2023
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.
Nov 17, 2023
The West's Incoherent Critique of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The battlefield geography of Gaza means that any operation there would turn into a bloody, highly destructive ground operation, with a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire. While Israel can mitigate some of these effects, neither Israel nor any other military can prevent them entirely. In this war, there is no happy medium.
Nov 16, 2023
Why the Oct. 7 Attack Wasn't Israel's 9/11
There are some basic strategic lessons to be learned from the U.S. response to 9/11 that are applicable to Israel's unfolding operation in Gaza. But in many key ways, the two conflicts couldn't be further apart.
Nov 13, 2023
Supporting Veterans, Israel-Hamas War, AI and Geopolitics: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on supporting America's veterans, what Israel's ground offensive in Gaza can and cannot accomplish, how AI might affect the rise and fall of nations, and more.
Nov 10, 2023
What Israel's Ground Offensive Can—and Cannot—Accomplish
Weeks after terrorist attacks left 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel has started its much-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza. But what can such an operation hope to achieve, and why launch such a campaign now?
Nov 6, 2023
Terror and the Secondary Trauma of Social Media
As graphic images from Israel and Gaza proliferate on social media, it is likely that these images are having significant negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of many. Mitigating their impact on global mental health might require making hard choices and doing the work to forge community bonds that prioritize everyone's well-being.
Nov 4, 2023
The History of Hostage Negotiations Tells Us Empathy Isn't Enough
History offers no prescriptions on how to bargain for human life. The circumstances of each case differ, but lessons can be learned.
Nov 3, 2023
Disinformation Amid the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. Gun Policy, Cannabis: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the information war may play out between Israel and Hamas, what the evidence says (and doesn't say) about U.S. gun policy, supply models for recreational cannabis, and more.
Nov 3, 2023
Lies, Misinformation Play Key Role in Israel-Hamas Fight
At the strategic level, the war in Gaza is about perception, telling a story about who is the victim and who is the aggressor. Lies, mistruths, and disinformation will play a key and continuing role in this fight.
Oct 31, 2023
Israel-Hamas War, AI and Gene Editing, Social Media Regulation: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the Israel-Hamas war, the convergence of machine learning and gene editing, regulating social media while protecting free speech, and more.
Oct 27, 2023
What North Korea Is Learning from the Hamas-Israel War
South Korea and the United States should rein in North Korean nuclear weapon production and prepare to respond to escalated North Korean coercion. While Kim Jong-un probably won't resort to a Hamas-style attack, he certainly shares Hamas' goal of cultivating U.S. reluctance to get involved militarily in the region.
Oct 24, 2023
The Four Questions the U.S. Military Should Be Asking About Operation Swords of Iron
The war in Gaza, much like previous Israeli wars, will likely yield a host of lessons for American military planners. It's not too early to identify the right questions to be asking as the conflict unfolds.
Oct 23, 2023
Sparing Civilian Lives in Gaza
How do you protect innocent civilians while conducting effective urban military operations against an enemy who is integrated into the civilian population and entrenched in a location's infrastructure? Despite the ferocity of the Hamas attack and the Israeli response, the moral obligation to reduce civilian harm cannot be ignored.
Oct 21, 2023
Risks of AI, Israel Faces Hard Choices, China 'Doesn't Get It': RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the risks of artificial intelligence, tough choices facing the Israeli government, China's blunders on the international stage, and more.
Oct 20, 2023
The Inevitable, Ongoing Failure of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The Hamas attack represented a spectacular failure of Israel's “mowing the grass” strategy in the Gaza Strip. If there's to be any hope of preventing the next war and the one after that, Israel will need to rebuild Gaza into something better than it was.
Oct 19, 2023
Israel-Hamas War, Overdose Deaths, Striking Health Care Workers: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on historical context for the Israel-Hamas war, the link between education and fatal overdoses, why U.S. health care workers are striking, and more.
Oct 13, 2023
Nuclear Deterrence, Russia and Iran, Deepfakes: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how much is “enough” for U.S. nuclear forces, the budding Russia-Iran partnership, the challenge of detecting deepfakes, and more.
Oct 6, 2023
Looking Beyond the War: Planning for Ukraine's Reconstruction
More certain than the outcome of the war is the need for an extensive post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It is likely to be the largest post-war rebuilding effort since the one in Europe after World War Two. The United States and its allies and partners have an intense interest in the success of reconstruction.
Sep 18, 2023
Teacher Pay, the Costs of Insomnia, Wildfire Prevention: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on teachers' dissatisfaction with their pay and work hours, the staggering costs of insomnia, connections between wildfires and food insecurity., and more.
Sep 15, 2023
The Four-Day School Week, AI and Social Media Manipulation, School Safety: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the costs and benefits of a four-day school week, how artificial intelligence is bringing a new era of social media manipulation, the effects of placing police officers in schools, and more.
Sep 8, 2023
Normalizing Assad Won't Solve the Syrian Refugee Crisis
As much as Syrian refugees would like to return home eventually and as much as neighboring countries would welcome an end to the challenges of hosting large refugee communities, now is not the right time for mass Syrian refugee repatriation. Regional governments could instead focus on supporting refugees where they are, especially by allowing them to be legal, productive members of local economies.
Aug 23, 2023

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