Category: intelligence

This week, we discuss how Truth Decay affects national security; America’s gun violence problem; why blockading Crimea may be Ukraine’s best option; improving educational outcomes for kids in foster care; the benefits of investing in women’s health research; and why the Army should be looking for slightly older recruits. Photo by Stephen Emlund/Getty Images Over… Continue reading Truth Decay and National Security, Gun Violence, Blockading Crimea: RAND Weekly Recap

This week, we discuss what to watch for as the situation in China unfolds; the downsides of diplomacy with Russia; why intelligence work can be traumatizing and what to do about it; defining and measuring civic infrastructure; China’s potential reactions to U.S. military activities in the Indo-Pacific; and managing expectations about the efficacy of the… Continue reading Protests in China, Negotiating with Russia, L.A.’s ‘Mansion Tax’: RAND Weekly Recap

Six days before the invasion of Ukraine, a small group of Russian soldiers huddled together in their tents in Belarus. One of them had covertly acquired a smartphone—barred by the military—and together, the group logged on to Western news sites. There, they read a story that shocked them: according to Western intelligence reports, Russia was… Continue reading The Russian Military Has Failed Its Sons

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

During this 2009-2014 reset, a confused United States invited Russia back into the Middle East after a nearly 40-year hiatus. It refused to provide a beleaguered Ukraine with offensive weapons. NATO members increasingly ignored their promised military contributions. The United States cut defense spending. Obama discouraged domestic gas and oil production. The world price of… Continue reading Russian Appeasement Was a Left-Wing Monopoly

Jacqueline Burns joined the U.S. Air Force because she wanted to help people, face to face, on the ground, whose lives had been torn apart by conflict or disaster. She was still in training when the attacks of 9/11 changed the mission. Burns, now a senior policy analyst at RAND, spent 12 years as an… Continue reading Helping People Affected by Conflict: Q&A with Jacqueline Burns