Defeating the Islamic State in Iraq 2014
Testimony presented before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 17, 2014.
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Testimony presented before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 17, 2014.
This report describes a new method for detecting development of commercial interest in technology areas (referred to as technology emergence) by analyzing the network of connections among different technology areas, using the definitions set forth by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Technology emergence is observed through quantitative analysis of the cumulative number of filings in a specific technology area.
Current unmanned systems (UxSs) use different communication systems and have limited autonomy, which limit their ability to share information they collect with warfighters and other UxSs operating in the same area. UxSs may also face survivability and mission effectiveness challenges when they operate in contested environments. This report identifies an architectural approach that can improve system interoperability and autonomy.
Through its Internet freedom program, the Department of State's DRL seeks to counter the efforts of authoritarian regimes to censor, monitor, and control the Internet. Employing portfolio analysis techniques, the authors assessed the DRL program's portfolio, determining effectiveness in performance, balance, and synergy and informally evaluating what constitutes a well-run project.
The relationship between New Zealand and the United States has seen ups and downs over the past 60 years, but the two countries have entered a new era characterized by the ability to agree to disagree.
Researchers examined the literature of armed conflict to determine the main factors that are likely to contribute to or impede the spread of violence from civil war and insurgency, then examined how they apply to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan.
Aid flowing into Syria is intended to determine the outcome of the conflict between rebel factions and Damascus. Instead, it could perpetuate the civil war and ignite larger regional hostilities that could reshape the political geography of the Middle East. This report examines the main factors likely to contribute to or impede the spread of violence from civil war and insurgency in Syria, and then examines how they apply to neighboring states.
The Department of Defense (DoD) may face challenges as it attempts to maintain its goal of spending about 23 percent of prime-contract dollars for goods and services with small businesses and at the same time apply strategic-sourcing practices to reduce total costs and improve performance and efficiency and in ways that will not conflict with small-business goals.
The primary purpose of the Programming Computation on Encrypted Data (PROCEED) program is to improve the efficiency of algorithms that allow people to carry out computations on encrypted data — without having to decrypt the data itself. RAND was asked to evaluate whether PROCEED — which expands the knowledge base of the global cryptographic community — is likely to provide more benefits to the United States than it does to its global rivals.
The report presents the results of two studies: The first compares the capabilities and development approaches used in the Joint Tactical Radio System wideband networking waveform and the commercial long-term evolution waveform, and the second analyzes military acquisition programs that have exceeded certain cost thresholds more than once.
The Cooperative Biological Engagement Program partners with about 20 countries in different regions around the world and works with them to address diverse threats to international security. This report describes a project to develop a comprehensive evaluation framework and recommends metrics for assessing and communicating progress toward the program's goals.
Identifies five key issues that the U.S. government should consider before deciding whether or not to offer military training and equipment to potential partners operating amidst uncertainty and suggests avenues for future research.
Testimony presented before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Subcommittee on Research and Technology and Subcommittee on Oversight on July 31, 2014.
There's a high probability that the establishment of a U.S. Global SOF Network will reinforce Beijing's extreme insecurities about Washington's intentions towards China, and heighten Chinese perceptions of enhanced US military encirclement capabilities. However, if China is invited to partner with U.S. Special Operations Forces, this may alter Chinese thinking on military cooperation.
This report documents efforts to implement a capability for the U.S. Department of Defense to assess alternative policies to enhance officer retention using estimates of behavioral responses to policy and provides source code and foundations of a spreadsheet version of the model.