When the New York Times documented faulty intelligence and flawed procedures that repeatedly led to civilian deaths during the U.S. war against the Islamic State, the revelations highlighted more than a broken process for planning and executing airstrikes. They also suggest that after civilians are injured or killed, the Defense Department isn’t doing enough to… Continue reading Trying to Forestall the Next Civilian Casualty Horror
Category: Intel
NBC’s Disinformation on Academic Transparency
Lawmakers in about a dozen states have introduced bills to promote academic transparency. The rationale is simple and compelling: parents deserve to know what their children are being taught in school. In an era when public schools are increasingly incorporating the discriminatory tenets of Critical Race Theory into all aspects of pedagogy, this is true… Continue reading NBC’s Disinformation on Academic Transparency
NATO’s Open-Door Policy, U.S. Health Care Payments, Climate Migrants: RAND Weekly Recap
This week, we discuss the dangers of NATO’s open-ended process of expansion; U.S. strategic competition with Russia; how U.S. health care systems emphasize volume over value; the need for a common definition of “climate migrants;” how the military can prepare for the next pandemic; and the value of postsecondary education. Photo by Pascal Rossignol/Reuters In… Continue reading NATO’s Open-Door Policy, U.S. Health Care Payments, Climate Migrants: RAND Weekly Recap
How to Break the Cycle of Conflict with Russia
To judge from recent developments around Ukraine, the United States’ post–Cold War policy toward Russia’s neighbors might seem like a failure. Moscow has deployed more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, and U.S. efforts to de-escalate the situation have so far come up short. But Europe’s most serious security crisis in decades is not… Continue reading How to Break the Cycle of Conflict with Russia
How China Plays by Different Rules—at Everyone Else’s Expense
Imagine the United States allowing a rival unfettered access not merely to its marketplace, but to its media ecosystem—the fourth pillar of our already fragile democracy. And not just access, but the full-blown ability to own, control, and influence the content. You don’t have to imagine it, because it’s happened—and keeps happening. Chinese companies have… Continue reading How China Plays by Different Rules—at Everyone Else’s Expense
Modi’s Foreign-Policy Juggling Act
Since assuming office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned India into a strategic player with a highly effective foreign policy. Modi has done this by shifting New Delhi away from its old strategy of strict nonalignment, paving the way for stronger ties with great and middle-sized powers. Under his watch, India has embraced… Continue reading Modi’s Foreign-Policy Juggling Act
America’s Experiment in Remedying Child Poverty
The expanded child tax credit lapsed in December as the cost of President Joe Biden’s spending plans became a sticking point in Congress. Yet amid the debate over whether its success in reducing poverty is worth its large price tag, many are missing a crucial feature: It was uniquely well-designed to address the increasingly precarious… Continue reading America’s Experiment in Remedying Child Poverty
Cotton Letter Lessons for the Biden Administration
To salvage the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – commonly referred to as the Iran deal – the Biden administration eased U.S. sanctions on Tehran, withdrew the Trump administration’s terrorist designation of the Iranian-backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen, and urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to resume talks over its nuclear program. In return,… Continue reading Cotton Letter Lessons for the Biden Administration
Educational Elites Have Awakened a Sleeping Tiger
Perhaps predictably, many public schools kicked off 2022 by switching back to remote learning — or canceling classes altogether — leaving frustrated parents across the country frantically searching for more consistent schooling options. These past two school years of remote and hybrid learning, forced masking, and an intensified culture of unpredictability has pushed teachers, administrators,… Continue reading Educational Elites Have Awakened a Sleeping Tiger
Reading, Writing and Gender Bending
The New York Times is concerned about censorship in American schools. “Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.” reads Sunday’s headline. “Parents, activists, school board officials and lawmakers around the country are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades,” the story reports. The story generally focuses on parents, but methinks the uptick in… Continue reading Reading, Writing and Gender Bending