October 2009

commentary

Price of Intoxication: The Case for a Minimum Price for Alcohol

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.

Lila Rabinovich

commentary

Keeping Our Allies on Our Side in Afghanistan

'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.

Leo Michel, Robert E. Hunter

commentary

Biden's Task in Eastern Europe: Reassurance

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.

F. Stephen Larrabee, Christopher S. Chivvis

commentary

Prime Numbers: Doped

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.

Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer, Peter Reuter

commentary

Human Side of Katrina Recovery Still Needs Work

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

Anita Chandra, Joie D. Acosta

commentary

Five Questions President Obama Should Ask in His Visit to New Orleans

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.

Melissa Flournoy

commentary

The Great Silencing: Intolerance and Censorship in the Arab World

Cynthia P. Schneider, Nadia Oweidat

commentary

Innovation Means More Than Something New

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

Elizabeth A. McGlynn

commentary

Afghanistan: Echoes of Vietnam

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.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

commentary

Disruption and Innovation in Health Care

Successful health care reform may provide virtually all individuals in the United States an adequate health insurance package. However, the need to increase value for health care dollars will extend far beyond the current policy window, writes Robert Brook.

Robert H. Brook

commentary

How to Tell if We're Winning the Afghan War

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.

Nora Bensahel

commentary

Path to a Pashtun Rebellion in Afghanistan

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.

Seth G. Jones

commentary

China: Self-Perception vs. Outside Perception

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.

Michael J. Lostumbo