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West Asia

Commentary

Regime Appears Fragile as Iranians Turn Much of Their Ire Inward

Economic hardship is fueling unrest in Iran. New sanctions stemming from the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal may exacerbate already difficult conditions. Now might be the time to exert maximum pressure on the regime in an effort to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table.

May 21, 2018
Commentary

Five Thoughts on Jerusalem, Gaza, and What's in Between

Dozens of people have been killed and over 2,000 injured in protests in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. Continued clashes are expected until the fundamental problems of the strip are solved, including the governance vacuum, the Palestinian Authority-Hamas rift, and the conflict with Israel.

May 15, 2018
Commentary

The Strategic Fallout of U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Deal

President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. What will happen next? Friction between the United States and its European allies will likely increase, while Iran moves closer to China and Russia. Also, the resentment of a new generation of Iranians toward America is likely to grow.

May 10, 2018
Commentary

The U.S. Is Out of the Iran Deal. What Now?

Abandoning the nuclear agreement with Iran isolates the United States, reneges on an American commitment, adds to the risk of a trade war with U.S. allies and a hot war with Iran, and diminishes the prospects of an agreement to eliminate the North Korean threat.

May 9, 2018
Testimony

A Path Forward for U.S. Government Spending in Afghanistan

For more than 16 years, U.S. assistance to Afghanistan has been enormous in scale and complexity. But how effective is U.S. spending when it comes to building a stable democracy in Afghanistan? How can the United States reduce its financial commitment while mitigating risks?

May 9, 2018
Commentary

What Does Mission Accomplished in Syria Really Mean?

The use of chemicals cannot be allowed to become an acceptable form of warfare either in Syria or anywhere else. Mission accomplishment in Syria, just like in chemical weapon nonproliferation, will require far more than missile strikes alone.

Apr 30, 2018
Commentary

Is America Ready for a Peace Deal in Afghanistan?

The Trump administration appears to be following its predecessor in imagining a political endgame in Afghanistan. It is focused on military efforts to try to turn the tide of the conflict, in hopes of negotiating from a stronger position. But if all sides continue to seek military advantage, negotiations will never commence.

Apr 27, 2018
Commentary

Stabilization Is Essential to Accomplishing the Mission

There's good reason to hope that the forthcoming policy on stabilization in places like Iraq will get the United States to the right middle road. But this new effort will fall short if Congress doesn't maintain the necessary funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Apr 24, 2018
Commentary

Europe's Great Challenge: Integrating Syrian Refugees

Since March, 2011, close to 1 million Syrian refugees have requested asylum in European countries, with Germany being the primary destination. Social and economic policies to deal with the refugee crisis will require collaborative planning, monitoring, and assessment efforts to be successful.

Apr 20, 2018
Commentary

Arms Control Hostage to Skripal and Syria Attacks

Two prominent poisoning assassination attempts and Kremlin denials of gas attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad raise doubts about Moscow's commitment to the purposes of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Never has the future of negotiated arms control involving Russia been at greater risk.

Apr 19, 2018
Report

Report

Health Sector Reform in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq: Primary Care Management Information System, Physician Dual Practice Finance Reform, and Quality of Care Training (Kurdish-language version)

Since 2010, RAND has worked with the Kurdistan Regional Government to improve its health care system. This phase focused on a primary care management information system, physician dual practice reform, and patient safety training.

Apr 19, 2018
Commentary

Are Chemical Weapons Becoming a Tacitly Accepted Weapon of War?

The international community should consider serious options to hold perpetrators of chemical attacks accountable and stop further attacks. These are not easy choices. But the alternative is accepting that long-held norms are crumbling, and the world is sliding back to a time when inhumane tools of war were common.

Apr 18, 2018
Commentary

Turkey's Double Standard: How Ankara's Actions Contradict Its Claims of Opposing the Islamic State

Turkey wants to take credit for the demise of the Islamic State, insisting that Turkey's actions in northern Syria have helped lay the groundwork for a sustainable peace. But the evidence clearly suggests otherwise.

Apr 13, 2018
Commentary

Conditioning American Withdrawal from Syria

U.S. forces will soon withdraw from Syria, and the U.S. State Department put a hold on further stabilization assistance to areas liberated from the Islamic State. The U.S. and its partners should offer stabilization and reconstruction help, particularly in regions where much of the damage was the result of American-supported military operations.

Apr 9, 2018
News Release

News Release

RAND Study Examines Ways U.S. Can Better Counter Political Warfare

The United States needs to improve the ways it combats adversaries adept at using political warfare tactics to achieve their goals and undermine U.S. interests and allies.

Apr 5, 2018
Report

Countering Modern Political Warfare

Both state and nonstate actors—including Russia, Iran, and ISIS—practice political warfare in unique ways. How can the United States, along with its allies and partners, respond to or engage in this type of conflict to protect U.S. interests?

Apr 5, 2018
Commentary

The Iran Deal Will Survive, at Least for Now

A U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal does not necessarily mean the deal will collapse. But a broader collapse of the agreement along with the imposition of harsh sanctions in the coming months could sharply escalate tensions with Iran.

Apr 4, 2018
Commentary

What's Turkey Trying to Achieve in Syria?

Turkish President Erdoğan is attempting to cement his political legitimacy among Syrian Sunnis by portraying himself as their savior. If the United States withdraws from Syria after the mission to defeat ISIS is complete, it will essentially be ceding the advantage to Erdoğan, who can continue pushing his agenda.

Apr 2, 2018
Report

Prospects for U.S. and Pakistan Air Power Engagement

As U.S. military action in Afghanistan stabilizes below its peak levels, the U.S.-Pakistan security relationship will enter a new phase. What is the nature of the relationship between the U.S. Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force, and how can it be strengthened?

Mar 28, 2018
Commentary

What Does Japan Think of the Iran Nuclear Deal?

What is Tokyo's view of the Iran nuclear deal and how has Tokyo responded to the U.S. threat to withdraw from it? What role is Japan, the world's third-largest economy, a major U.S. ally, and the only country ever to be attacked with nuclear weapons, likely to play in attempting to preserve, improve, or scrap the deal?

Mar 26, 2018

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