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April 2011

Military Personnel

essay
Gays in the Military: New Facts Conquer Old Taboos
RAND's updated research on sexual orientation and U.S. military personnel policy played a role in the likely repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' But it also tells a story of how public opinion has shifted on the issue since we first studied it in 1993.
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Apr 29, 2011
Bernard D. Rostker, Susan D. Hosek, et al.

Peacekeeping and Stability Operations

commentary
A Recipe for Military Disaster: Mixing Idealism and Realism
In many cases, idealism and realism conflict, as evidenced by U.S. military interventions over the past four decades, writes Harold Brown.
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Apr 30, 2011
The Washington Post
Harold Brown
Terrorist Organizations

commentary
Prison as Indoctrination Center
The Taliban view incarceration foremost as a means to attract new recruits and enhance the jihadist resolve and ideological purity of their own members, writes Arturo Munoz.
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Apr 26, 2011
NYTimes.com
Arturo Munoz
United Nations

commentary
Odd Man Out at Sea
The United States has yet to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a result, the U.S., the world's leading maritime power, is at a military and economic disadvantage, write Thad W. Allen, Richard L. Armitage, and John J. Hamre.
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Apr 25, 2011
New York Times
Thad W. Allen, Richard L. Armitage, et al.
Peacekeeping and Stability Operations

commentary
Expect Regime Change in Libya, Yemen
The countries in a possible "second wave" of Arab revolutions have dim prospects for consolidated democracies. Other than tribes, Libya essentially has no civil society, and it has a long-isolated educated class. Yemen has civil society organizations but fewer well-educated individuals, writes Julie Taylor.
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Apr 25, 2011
CNN
Julie E. Taylor
Public Health

commentary
Worth Its Weight in Gold?
In terms of healthcare use and chronic health conditions, obesity is comparable to aging 20 years, with the health of a 30 year old resembling that of a 50 year old, writes Roland Sturm.
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Apr 21, 2011
Public Service Review: European Union
Roland Sturm
Peacekeeping and Stability Operations

commentary
Time to Arm Libyan Rebels: Here's How
The long-term objective of a train-and-equip program for the Libyan revolutionary government would be to create a professional military force in a post-Qaddafi Libya that could support democratic institutions free of extremist elements, writes Angel Rabasa.
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Apr 13, 2011
Christian Science Monitor
Angel Rabasa
International Economic Relations

commentary
The Facts About American 'Decline'
It's fashionable among academics and pundits to proclaim that the U.S. is in decline and no longer No. 1 in the world. The declinists say they are realists. In fact, their alarm is unrealistic, writes Charles Wolf, Jr.
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Apr 13, 2011
Wall Street Journal
Charles Wolf, Jr.
United Nations

commentary
Industry Insights: What's So Hard About Stopping Piracy?
Containing persistent maritime disorder might be more fruitful and could lay the foundations for a successful transition to better use of the sea once the societal factors—an even longer term problem—have been resolved, writes Laurence Smallman.
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Apr 11, 2011
Earth Imaging Journal
Laurence Smallman
Water Transportation

commentary
Kowtowing to Pirates' Ransoms Fuels Maritime Piracy
Instead of fanning piracy, international businesses need to heed policy. Ransoms in the short term can only lead to more problems in the long term, writes Laurence Smallman.
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Apr 11, 2011
Bloomberg Government
Laurence Smallman
United Nations

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.
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Apr 10, 2011
European Affairs
Robert E. Hunter
United Kingdom

commentary
Obama's Calculated Gamble on Libya Strategy
Pushing the European allies, especially Britain and France, to take more responsibility in managing crises would reduce the costs and burdens on the United States while providing an incentive for the Europeans to take defense more seriously, writes F. Stephen Larrabee.
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Apr 4, 2011
CNN
F. Stephen Larrabee
Nation Building

commentary
Afghanistan's Reasons for Optimism
Afghans in general are much more optimistic about their future than we Americans are about ours, write James Dobbins and Craig Charney.
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Apr 1, 2011
The Washington Post
Craig Charney, James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins