Military Strategy
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blog
Trauma in the Intelligence Community, Climate Change, Cybersecurity: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the toll that trauma takes in the intelligence community, how climate change will affect the federal budget, why it may be time for a new cybersecurity standard, and more.
Sep 29, 2023
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commentary
North Korea and China Aren't the Allies You Think They Are
China and North Korea have a history of friction, despite being seen as allies. As Russia, China, and North Korea move toward a closer trilateral partnership, the United States and its allies need to recognize that there are seams in the relationships that can be used to undermine it.
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commentary
Landmines in Ukraine: Lessons for China and Taiwan
In shaping patterns of future warfare, militaries across the world will be seeking to absorb the key lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War. Chinese strategists are particularly attuned to the major role that landmines have played in the conflict.
Lyle Goldstein, Nathan Waechter
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Warfare and Military Operations
commentary
Why Improve Ukraine's Deep-Strike Capability?
Coordinated deep-strike capabilities—air-launched and ground-launched—will be most effective in degrading Russian forces and operations. Using air and ground launchers would force Russian commanders to devote substantial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to attempt to find these systems.
John Hoehn, Hunter Stoll, et al.
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commentary
The Strawman Defense Is Torching Taiwan's Military
There are many reasons why the political future of Taiwan Strait relations is uncertain, but the military considerations for Taiwan are much more straightforward. Taiwan should invest in capabilities that are highly survivable and potent against a potential attack from mainland China.
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commentary
North Korea, Russia and China: The Developing Trilateral Imperialist Partnership
There are no easy ways for the United States and its allies to counter the developing Russia-China-North Korea partnership. But there are options to consider and steps to take. There are also fissures in their relationships to exploit.
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commentary
Airmen Out-Paced
As it stands now, airmen are being asked to pick up the pieces when communications networks and chains of command break. Mission command could be the means to succeed in the future, but only after the USAF does the hard work now to make organizational changes and define a viable construct to guide their efforts.
Sep 8, 2023
Wild Blue Yonder
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blog
The Four-Day School Week, AI and Social Media Manipulation, School Safety: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the costs and benefits of a four-day school week, how artificial intelligence is bringing a new era of social media manipulation, the effects of placing police officers in schools, and more.
Sep 8, 2023
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blog
The State of Public Education, the Opioid Crisis, Defending Taiwan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the state of public education in America right now, a missing piece of the strategy for addressing the opioid crisis, emerging technology that could help defend Taiwan, and more.
Sep 1, 2023
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commentary
A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
The leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the United States held a trilateral summit in August, focused on countering military threats in East Asia. Not surprisingly, China and North Korea were upset by the summit, designed as it was to respond to their military build-ups.
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Arms Proliferation and Control
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Hard Times for U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control
New START is slated to expire in February 2026 and cannot be extended. The next chapter in U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control, if there is to be one, may not be written until rulers in Moscow ease repression at home, pull troops out of Ukraine, and recognize the mutual benefits of reducing, rather than stoking, nuclear tensions.
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commentary
Why Biden Was Justified to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine
The U.S. decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine—and the ensuing controversy—are reflective of a broader and long-standing question: What means are moral in war? While much has been made of the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance from these weapons, there are strong arguments for providing them to Ukraine.
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commentary
Why DoD Needs Greater Focus on Nonlethal Weapons, Intermediate Force Capabilities
Nonlethal weapons do not entail the firing of projectiles, the detonation of explosives, or even the use of edged weapons with blades. Their effects are more subtle, though no less powerful for that. But the effects of these systems, and their impact on overall military capabilities, are often underestimated or misunderstood.
Aug 8, 2023
Defense Opinion
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commentary
Why the United States Still Needs Ground Forces in Europe
The bulked-up U.S. presence in Europe will remain necessary for at least three to five years, for at least three reasons: to preserve Ukraine's sovereignty, to sustain U.S. commitments to NATO, and to encourage the development of partner nation capabilities that will eventually enable greater burden-sharing among allies.
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commentary
Taiwan-Straitjacket
The surging security relationship between the United States and Taiwan is exposing some long-simmering differences, with questions about Taiwan's defense investments atop Washington's list of concerns.
Jul 24, 2023
RealClearDefense
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commentary
A Winnable War
Many commentators have likened the current Russia-Ukraine war to the Western Front of World War I. A better historical precedent to understand the current fighting in Ukraine can be found in the U.S. Army's experience fighting against Nazi forces in the hedgerows of Normandy in France in the summer of 1944.
Jul 21, 2023
Foreign Policy