On this date in 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary emancipation proclamation announcing that if the states of the Confederacy did not return to the Union within 100 days, he would issue a final proclamation freeing the slaves in areas of rebellion. One hundred days later, with the Civil War still raging, Lincoln did just… Continue reading The Meaning of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
Category: Intel
Embracing the Messiness of Public-Private Collaboration in the Fight Against Botnets
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, Russia has sponsored several Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against Ukrainian targets, including various attacks against government and financial entities. Botnets, which are networks of computers infected with malware that an attacker controls and uses to fulfill malicious cyber activities, can be used to launch these DDoS… Continue reading Embracing the Messiness of Public-Private Collaboration in the Fight Against Botnets
Winning the Tech Cold War
If world leaders learn only one lesson from the war in Ukraine, it should be that the ability to rapidly innovate—to invent, adopt, and effectively integrate new technologies—can have profound implications for combat outcomes. Outgunned and outnumbered, Ukrainians took a page from the U.S. playbook and turned to technology to gain an advantage over the… Continue reading Winning the Tech Cold War
Maui Wildires, Regulating AI, Ukraine’s Civilian Resistance: RAND Weekly Recaps
This week, we discuss the invisible damage from the Maui wildfires; improving the safety of America’s AI industry; what makes teachers of color feel a sense of belonging; Ukraine’s civilian resistance; how to increase housing affordability in New York City; and the situation of ISIS prisoners in Syria. The Vaa family escaped the deadly wildfire… Continue reading Maui Wildires, Regulating AI, Ukraine’s Civilian Resistance: RAND Weekly Recaps
Much of the Damage in Maui Will Be Invisible, but Very Real
The wildfires on Maui killed at least 96 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings in the town of Lahaina. While the loss of life is clearly the most tragic, officials estimate that the cost to rebuild will exceed $5 billion. But the full economic cost will likely be far higher, because it will… Continue reading Much of the Damage in Maui Will Be Invisible, but Very Real
India Is Pushing Back Against China in South Asia
As the intensifying strategic confrontation between the United States and China dominates many foreign-policy debates, another important competition is quietly playing out. The jostling between India and China for influence in South Asia—from the Himalayas to the islands off the subcontinent in the Indian Ocean—will likely prove crucial to the fate of Washington’s strategy to… Continue reading India Is Pushing Back Against China in South Asia
Is Believing Our Kids Are Safer Worth Closing Off Some of Their Futures?
Fifteen months after the tragedy in Uvalde, many school districts in Texas and around the country are working with their local police departments to place more police officers inside schools. These officers—mostly known as school resource officers—will arrive at a fraught time. Just a few years ago, after George Floyd’s murder, many districts ended their… Continue reading Is Believing Our Kids Are Safer Worth Closing Off Some of Their Futures?
Normalizing Assad Won’t Solve the Syrian Refugee Crisis
Middle Eastern leaders have been normalizing relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and looking ahead to sending Syrian refugees back to their home country, but it is too early to begin repatriating the 5.5 million Syrians who fled the country to escape the fighting there. Turkey announced plans to repatriate a million Syrian refugees in… Continue reading Normalizing Assad Won’t Solve the Syrian Refugee Crisis
These Technologies Could Defeat China’s Missile Barrage and Defend Taiwan
Earlier this year, a group of experts from RAND and the Special Competitive Studies Project launched a new wargame effort around China’s invasion of Taiwan—but unlike most D.C.-based wargames, this effort heavily involved members of the commercial technology sector, in order to understand what near-term capabilities might be brought to bear on a Taiwan scenario.… Continue reading These Technologies Could Defeat China’s Missile Barrage and Defend Taiwan
The War in Ukraine, Income Share Agreements, the Tech ‘Cold War’: RAND Weekly Recap
This week, we discuss why comparing the war in Ukraine to World War I is misleading; income share agreements as an alternative to student loans; how India is edging out China in South Asia; how to plan ethical influence operations; parental involvement in schools; and the U.S.-China race for technological supremacy. Photo by Stringer/Reuters Many… Continue reading The War in Ukraine, Income Share Agreements, the Tech ‘Cold War’: RAND Weekly Recap