2009-11-20T17:19:48Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:380E7B92-30B6-11DC-A368-64E9D44B69C5 urn:uuid:A064C3F0-D39C-11DE-AD97-24C138788F35 2009-11-13T12:12:00Z 2009-11-13T12:12:00Z

In 2007 in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker set a model for civil-military collaboration: They never let daylight show between their positions. General McChrystal and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry have diverged from this model, writes James Dobbins.

urn:uuid:E62CEE54-CD97-11DE-9888-24C138788F35 2009-11-09T20:19:00Z 2009-11-09T20:19:00Z

The fall of the Berlin Wall retains its status as an epoch-making event in modern world history, even as it passes from recent into truly historical memory, writes Christopher Chivvis.

urn:uuid:D5A67092-C98B-11DE-A903-F82E39788F35 2009-11-04T16:48:00Z 2009-11-04T16:48:00Z

The last thing Karzai, NATO, and the United States can afford is the emergence of a renewed northern alliance, writes James Dobbins.

urn:uuid:FF36D9DE-C7FA-11DE-8E75-F82E39788F35 2009-11-02T16:58:00Z 2009-11-02T16:58:00Z

Afghan President Hamid Karzai begins his second term with his country on the brink of chaos. To establish control, two major elements of reform are necessary, writes Terrence Kelly.

urn:uuid:22DF3F00-C55A-11DE-A23B-11C138788F35 2009-10-30T09:42:00Z 2009-10-30T09:42:00Z

If ever there was a scheme that might reduce excessive alcohol consumption while causing minimal social and economic disruption, a minimum price on alcohol may be it, writes Lila Rabinovich.

urn:uuid:5890F39A-C2FE-11DE-BFDA-24C138788F35 2009-10-27T09:39:00Z 2009-10-27T09:39:00Z

'There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies," observed Winston Churchill in 1945, "and that is fighting without them." It's a truth worth recalling as the Obama administration nears crucial decisions on Afghanistan, write Leo Michel and Robert Hunter.

urn:uuid:ADE9A570-BDBE-11DE-9433-24C138788F35 2009-10-20T17:22:00Z 2009-10-20T17:22:00Z

After the decision to cancel missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech Republic, the US needs to do more than damage control to soothe ties there, write F. Stephen Larrabee and Christopher Chivvis.

urn:uuid:E7EDB2C8-BFDC-11DE-9BA5-24C138788F35 2009-10-19T10:03:00Z 2009-10-19T10:03:00Z

The illicit drug trade is the ultimate value-added chain. As cocaine and heroin make their perilous journeys from the fields of Colombia and Afghanistan to markets in U.S. and European cities, each border crossed and each trafficker involved adds dollars to a price, write Beau Kilmer And Peter Reuter.

urn:uuid:A309399C-BCB3-11DE-8AFB-24C138788F35 2009-10-17T09:30:00Z 2009-10-17T09:30:00Z

Four years after Hurricane Katrina, many people in the Gulf Coast region are still "just surviving," write Anita Chandra and Joie Acosta.

urn:uuid:70786A86-B8E7-11DE-9956-B72839788F35 2009-10-14T13:31:00Z 2009-10-14T13:31:00Z

The federal government has spent about $140 billion responding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the Gulf Coast now needs more money for hurricane and flood protection and for coastal restoration. But we still haven't properly evaluated whether our money was spent wisely.

urn:uuid:7837C598-B8E5-11DE-A9A8-B72839788F35 2009-10-14T13:17:00Z 2009-10-14T13:17:00Z

With much talk about how to "win hearts and minds" in the Muslim world, it's surprising that few are looking back to a global contest of ideas that the U.S. and its allies categorically won: the Cold War.

urn:uuid:4F51E67C-B804-11DE-B93E-B72839788F35 2009-10-13T10:25:00Z 2009-10-13T10:25:00Z

"Where are the moderate voices from the Arab world?" This common lament often leads to nostalgic evocations of the Golden Age of Islam, write Cynthia P. Schneider and Nadia Oweidat.

urn:uuid:DE02D3F6-B80C-11DE-A9A8-B72839788F35 2009-10-09T11:26:00Z 2009-10-09T11:26:00Z

Information on comparative effectiveness by itself does not change the system that produces these results, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.

urn:uuid:CC8D9206-B3B0-11DE-BF6B-41C038788F35 2009-10-07T22:16:00Z 2009-10-07T22:16:00Z

Now that U.S. involvement in Iraq has begun to require fewer resources, Afghanistan is the new focus of American and European anti-war sentiment, and increasingly Obama's critics are drawing on the analogy of Vietnam, writes James Dobbins.

urn:uuid:7702C770-B22A-11DE-A7CC-41C038788F35 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z 2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

If one year from today, the Taliban controls less territory and the Afghan security forces are more capable, then we will know the United States is winning, writes Nora Bensahel.

urn:uuid:58B657AC-B39F-11DE-8C07-41C038788F35 2009-10-02T00:01:00Z 2009-10-02T00:01:00Z

The discussion of American troop numbers misunderstands the subtle nuances of fighting a war in areas inhabited by fiercely independent Pashtun tribes, whose culture and traditions are under severe threat from the Taliban, writes Seth Jones.

urn:uuid:1911681A-B01D-11DE-B9D8-41C038788F35 2009-10-02T00:00:00Z 2009-10-02T00:00:00Z

China's challenge in defining the security role it will play in the region and the world in the coming years is to harmonize its own view of its security intentions with that of the outside world, writes Michael Lostumbo.

urn:uuid:BAE0848C-ADF2-11DE-9124-3FC038788F35 2009-09-30T14:54:00Z 2009-09-30T14:54:00Z

The revelation of a secret nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom, and the likely existence of other advanced facilities across Iran, makes more urgent the need for a quick solution to the nuclear impasse, writes Alireza Nader.

urn:uuid:0ADF5C66-A9D3-11DE-B200-3FC038788F35 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z 2009-09-25T00:00:00Z

If the United States is to be a global competitor in green building technology, it needs to learn from some of the countries that are at the table in Pittsburgh this week, writes Charles Ries.

urn:uuid:1ECFCB5A-A912-11DE-8152-26C138788F35 2009-09-24T09:56:00Z 2009-09-24T09:56:00Z

The increasing importance of the G-20 summits, which include developing heavyweights such as Brazil, Russia, China and India, is testimony to the growing role emerging states now play in managing the international economy. But integrating these newcomers into the global community is unlikely to be straightforward or simple writes Lowell Schwartz.