2009-06-30T11:07:13Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:380E7B92-30B6-11DC-A368-64E9D44B69C5 urn:uuid:3D6DC312-657B-11DE-AC5B-52C038788F35 2009-06-30T09:37:00Z 2009-06-30T09:37:00Z

The United States has spent some $12 billion trying to help Pakistan save itself. Unfortunately, Washington has lavished most of the aid on the Pakistan army. It is time to reconsider that decision and focus instead on improving the country's police force, writes C. Christine Fair.

urn:uuid:6CF7E8A0-64E6-11DE-AB1F-52C038788F35 2009-06-29T15:52:00Z 2009-06-29T15:52:00Z

Before he closes Guantánamo, Obama must take a clear-eyed look at the record – and anticipate the next chapter of the fight against terrorism. What happens to terrorist suspects after they leave the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, writes Aidan Kirby Winn.

urn:uuid:499A91FA-60CC-11DE-B150-4DC038788F35 2009-06-24T10:35:00Z 2009-06-24T10:35:00Z

President Obama and several Congressional leaders have recently expressed support for the idea of allowing citizens to buy into a public insurance program as part of any health reform legislation. The intensity of the ensuing debate has been fascinating given the lack of specifics that have been offered by either side, writes Elizabeth A. McGlynn.

urn:uuid:BD1F637A-602D-11DE-86D4-4DC038788F35 2009-06-23T15:40:00Z 2009-06-23T15:40:00Z

One reason that health reform proposals always seem to fail is that proponents promise too much. Reformers declare they will improve quality, lower costs and increase access — all at the same time. This mantra is repeated so often that the public tends to believe it is possible, when really it isn't, writes Dana P. Goldman.

urn:uuid:2D08AE30-5F5C-11DE-B493-4DC038788F35 2009-06-22T14:40:00Z 2009-06-22T14:40:00Z

Despite the huge protests on the streets of Tehran, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has once again triumphed. A relative newcomer to Iranian politics, Ahmadinejad's re-election and subsequent crackdown on the demonstrators suggest that the Iranian political system is moving in a new and potentially dangerous direction, writes Alireza Nader.

urn:uuid:3F36885A-59F0-11DE-9497-51C038788F35 2009-06-15T17:04:00Z 2009-06-15T17:04:00Z

For months, North Korea has been trying to upstage the summit between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama that is scheduled for June 16. Almost all Americans I know have heard of these North Korean provocations. But few have heard anything about the U.S.-ROK summit, writes Bruce Bennett.

urn:uuid:F2F00912-5AA8-11DE-9497-51C038788F35 2009-06-15T15:06:00Z 2009-06-15T15:06:00Z

The leaders of the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—hold their first stand-alone summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Tuesday, June 16. The timing of the BRIC summit, just a few weeks before U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival in Moscow and the G-8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, is hardly accidental, writes Andrew S. Weiss.

urn:uuid:4BFF74DC-55C4-11DE-8B40-54C038788F35 2009-06-10T09:40:00Z 2009-06-10T09:40:00Z

The result of Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lebanon is a boon for the United States, but it also presents a challenge. The U.S. would be well-advised to play for the long term in Lebanon with a pragmatic policy that deals with the reality of Hezbollah's political power while continuing to strengthen moderate forces and national institutions, write Aram Nerguizian and Ghassan Schbley.

urn:uuid:2455CF94-5209-11DE-AC64-54C038788F35 2009-06-05T15:43:00Z 2009-06-05T15:43:00Z

Lebanon is scheduled to hold elections Sunday [June 7], and the pro-Western political alliance favored by the United States may lose. If it does, the Obama Administration should not consider the result a triumph for Hezbollah, but a challenge, write Aram Nerguizian and Ghassan Schbley.

urn:uuid:7596EEE4-5207-11DE-9F24-54C038788F35 2009-06-02T15:30:00Z 2009-06-02T15:30:00Z

North Korea's latest misbehavior highlights an uncomfortable truth: the failure of the United States and the international community to deter North Korean actions. In this case, it is pretty easy to see why North Korea has not been deterred, writes Bruce Bennett.

urn:uuid:C9074078-4FA6-11DE-9B92-E5D938788F35 2009-06-02T14:54:00Z 2009-06-02T14:54:00Z

The term "Global War on Terror" is now out of favor in the government lexicon, and new drug czar Gil Kerlikowske wants to end the use of the phrase "War on Drugs." It's not that opposing terrorism or drugs is no longer important, or that operations will be substantially changed. But how we talk about things matters, writes Christopher Paul.

urn:uuid:E3F2DEB6-4E33-11DE-B98C-52C038788F35 2009-05-30T18:37:00Z 2009-05-30T18:37:00Z

All told, since 2001, the United States has spent about $12 billion to help Pakistan. Yet last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared Pakistan a "mortal threat" to international security. Washington needs to strike a far better bargain for its billions, writes C. Christine Fair.

urn:uuid:A054BAF0-5048-11DE-92C5-E5D938788F35 2009-05-29T09:43:00Z 2009-05-29T09:43:00Z

What Pittsburgh attraction provides $3 of economic output for every public dollar invested? The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. If you find this factoid unlikely, it is because the research that discovered it received an astounding lack of attention, write Susan Everingham and Sally Sleeper.

urn:uuid:0B26002E-44A9-11DE-8A82-A3F438788F35 2009-05-19T15:12:00Z 2009-05-19T15:12:00Z

For almost 15 years, Europe has led the world in protecting personal data. At the EU level, it has done this through the data-protection directive adopted in 1995. But surveys such as one carried out by Eurobarometer last year illustrate that Europeans now feel insufficiently protected, write Lorenzo Valeri and Neil Robinson.

urn:uuid:AF966BF2-43B0-11DE-B53D-24C138788F35 2009-05-17T09:33:00Z 2009-05-17T09:33:00Z

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.

urn:uuid:AAFB1758-408D-11DE-B351-53C038788F35 2009-05-14T09:46:00Z 2009-05-14T09:46:00Z

Drug-related violence in Mexico has more than doubled over the past 18 months, with a sharp increase in crimes that can only be understood as atrocities. The executions, assassinations, and decapitations may all seem wanton and senseless. But this violence actually has a purpose, write Benjamin Bahney and Agnes Gereben Schaefer.

urn:uuid:4ED64DA2-3F3F-11DE-B8DE-53C038788F35 2009-05-12T17:52:00Z 2009-05-12T17:52:00Z

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 Blackwill.

urn:uuid:ECD5201C-3A82-11DE-8700-02EE38788F35 2009-05-06T17:14:00Z 2009-05-06T17:14:00Z

The combination of our largely overlapping vital national interests and shared democratic values should produce a bright future for strategic collaboration between New Delhi and Washington in future decades. But in the immediate period before us, our bilateral ties are likely to be more problematical than we have seen in recent years. I want to stress that there is nothing inevitable about this, says Robert D. Blackwill.

urn:uuid:F015C502-38B0-11DE-B62C-02EE38788F35 2009-05-04T09:38:00Z 2009-05-04T09:38:00Z

Does the provision of private security contractors provide a viable solution to the growing problem of piracy off the Horn of Africa? Quite apart from the high cost — a robust security operation can run as much as $21,000 a day — employing security contractors poses problems on several fronts, writes Peter Chalk.

urn:uuid:FF8D5790-3598-11DE-95FC-54C038788F35 2009-04-30T11:09:00Z 2009-04-30T11:09:00Z

In the rush of constant news updates on swine flu, we must recognize that controlling the spread of this disease is not simply a health concern but also one of national security. And in today's globalized world, the spread of swine flu has become not just a U.S. national security threat but every country's national security threat, writes Melinda Moore.