Law of War

Essay

Civilian Casualties: Lessons from the Battle for Raqqa

The United States' emphasis on minimizing civilian harm in Raqqa, Syria, was quite clear and strong up and down the chain of command. But the way in which the U.S. military waged war in Raqqa too often undercut that commitment. The Pentagon asked RAND to find out what happened.

Blog

Employing Insurgency in Ukraine, U.S. Hospital Prices, Reaching the Middle Class: RAND Weekly Recap

This week, we discuss the potential value of an insurgent campaign in Ukraine; addressing L.A.’s housing crisis; lessons from the 2017 battle for Raqqa; a look at U.S. hospital prices; Americans’ options for reaching the middle class; and how to help single mothers get out of poverty.

Report

Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa Were Considerable but Insufficient

The 2017 battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS is a cautionary tale in 21st-century conflicts. U.S. strategic choices likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces. What lessons can be applied to future operations?

News Release

Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa, Syria, in 2017 Were Considerable but Insufficient

U.S. strategic choices in the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS in 2017 likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces.

Commentary

Trying to Forestall the Next Civilian Casualty Horror

After civilians are injured or killed, the U.S. Defense Department isn't doing enough to learn from its own failures. The Pentagon needs to devote resources and senior leader attention to an issue that has historically lacked both. Civilian protection should become the singular priority for a critical mass of people across the organization.

Report

Pentagon Processes on Civilian Casualties Inconsistent, in Need of Reform

The Department of Defense has committed to civilian-harm policies and processes, but inconsistencies remain. The Pentagon is not adequately organized or resourced to sufficiently assess, reduce, and respond to civilian-harm incidents. Reform will require institutional, not just operational, changes.

News Release

Pentagon Processes on Civilian Casualties Inconsistent, in Need of Reform

Lessons from U.S. military strikes that caused civilian casualties are not shared across the Department of Defense (DoD) in a way that meaningfully reduces future civilian casualties.

Journal Article

Strategic and Legal Implications of Emerging Dual-Use ASAT Systems

This article addresses the dual-use conundrum of space technology, examining where the threshold lies for anti-satellite systems.

Report

Building Military Coalitions: Lessons from U.S. Experience

This report describes factors that seem to be associated with U.S. decisions to use coalitions for military interventions, factors that drive partner states to join such coalitions, and factors that shape the success of military coalitions.

Report

Restraint and the Future of Warfare: The Changing Global Environment and Its Implications for the U.S. Air Force

This volume of the Future of Warfare series examines trends in factors affecting the use of restraint in warfare that could affect U.S. national security, notably effectiveness of false accusations and public concern for civilian casualties.

Commentary

'Game of Thrones' Reflections on International Relations

As two RAND researchers join millions of others in eagerly awaiting the final season of Game of Thrones, they reflect on one of the show's central themes: rival views of the nature of power and justice.

Report

The moral component of cross-domain conflict

The study considers the body of work on morality and armed conflict in the future operating environment and provides insights on the ways in which new ways of fighting may challenge traditional moral principles.

Report

The Continued Evolution of U.S. Law of Armed Conflict Implementation: Implications for the U.S. Military

RAND researchers examine potential strategic, technological, and normative trends that may affect the future evolution of U.S. policies that implement the Law of Armed Conflict, and assess the resulting implications for the U.S. military.

Commentary

The Allies in Libya: A New Paradigm for Intervention?

What has been happening in North Africa this year, in what seems to be the leading edge of a great wind of change sweeping the Arab world, will require the Europeans (along with the U.S. and others) to be deeply and durably engaged there — economically, politically and in humanitarian terms, writes Robert E. Hunter.

Report

Hired Guns: Views About Armed Contractors in Operation Iraqi Freedom

While most U.S. government officials working in Iraq believe the use of armed private security contractors has been a useful strategy, many worry that the contractors have not always had a positive effect on U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Report

The Impact of U.S. Domestic Law on the Last Days of American Presence in Vietnam

A discussion of Public Law 93-50 forbidding expenditure of U.S. funds for combat in Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam and South Vietnam after 15 August 1973, and the War Powers Resolution limiting the President's power to engage U.S. troops, and how...

People

Bryan Frederick