Zalmay Khalilzad grew up in a traditional family in the ancient city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. As a teenager, Khalilzad spent a year as an exchange student in California, where after some initial culture shocks he began to see the merits of America's very different way of life. He believed the ideals that make American culture work, like personal initiative, community action, and respect for women, could make a transformative difference to his home country, the Muslim world and beyond. Of course, 17-year-old Khalilzad never imagined that he would one day be in a position to advance such ideas. With 9/11, he found himself uniquely placed to try to shape mutually beneficial relationships between his two worlds. As U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, he helped craft two constitutions and forge governing coalitions. As U.S. Ambassador to the UN, he used his unique personal diplomacy to advance U.S. interests and values. In The Envoy, Khalilzad details his experiences under three presidential administrations with candid behind-the-scenes insights. He argues that America needs an intelligent, effective foreign policy informed by long-term thinking and supported by bipartisan commitment. Part memoir, part record of a political insider, and part incisive analysis of the current Middle East, The Envoy arrives in time for foreign policy discussions leading up to the 2016 election.
Advances in information technology have led us to rely on easy communication and readily available information--both in our personal lives and in the life of our nation. For the most part, we have rightly welcomed these changes. But information that is readily available is available to friend and foe alike; a system that relies on communication can become useless if its ability to communicate is interfered with or destroyed. Because this reliance is so general, attacks on the information infrastructure can have widespread effects, both for the military and for society. And such attacks can come from a variety of sources, some difficult or impossible to identify. This, the third volume in the Strategic Appraisal series, draws on the expertise of researchers from across RAND to explore the opportunities and vulnerabilities inherent in the increasing reliance on information technology, looking both at its usefulness to the warrior and the need to protect its usefulness for everyone. The Strategic Appraisal series is intended to review, for a broad audience, issues bearing on national security and defense planning.
This report is intended to help the U.S. military--especially the U.S. Air Force--capitalize on changes in the Middle East security environment that may come about after a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. It offers an overview of how the Arab-Israeli dispute has complicated U.S. efforts to defend the Persian Gulf region and details ways in which Israeli participation might aid the U.S. Air Force in future crises if peace reduces the stigma attached to an Israeli security role in the area. The report concludes by noting the implications of the above points for the U.S. military.
Change--in international relations, in technology, and in society as a whole--has become the idiom of our age. One example of these changes has been an increasing recognition of the value of air and space assets for handling nearly every contingency from disaster relief to war and, onsequently, increasing demand for such assets. These developments have created both challenges and opportunities for the U.S. Air Force. This, the fourth volume in the Strategic Appraisal series, draws on the expertise of researchers from across RAND to explore both the challenges and opportunities that the U.S. Air Force faces as it strives to support the nation's interests in a challenging technological and security environment.Contributors examine the changing roles of air and space forces in U.S.national security strategy, the implications of new systems and technologiesfor military operations, and the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. securitystrategy. Contributors also discuss the status of major modernizationefforts within the Air Force, and the bill of health of the Air Force, asmeasured by its readiness to undertake its missions both today and in thefuture.
A collection of discussion papers, prepared by RAND staff and others, thatanalyze the most critical foreign and national security issues facing the United States, both during the early days of the incoming presidential administration and in the long term. These papers were commissioned by Transition 2001, a bipartisan panel of about 60 American leaders in the areas of foreign and defense policy. The panel used the informationin the papers as the raw material for a summary report (published as RAND MR-1306-RC) that outlines the most important national security challenges for the new administration, suggests priorities, and recommends specific courses of action.
At the European Union's Helsinki Summit in 1999, Turkey was declared a candidate for EU membership. This report discusses Western stakes in the future of a changing Turkey. The authors offer an agenda for closer strategic co-operation in the US-Turkish-European triangle.
This report assesses the prospects for the Afghan Interim Government (AIG) formed by the Pakistan-based mujahedin leaders in February 1989 after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. It focuses on the following issues: (1) whether the AIG is an asset, a liability, or of no importance in the conflict between the mujahedin and the Kabul regime; (2) the attitude of key commanders, the Afghan leaders based in Pakistan, and other noted Afghans toward the AIG; (3) the prospects for broadening the AIG; (4) the alternatives proposed by the important Afghans--the AIG leaders, resistance commanders, and the former king--on how the AIG should be broadened or replaced; (5) the implications if the AIG is not broadened; and (6) the alternatives to the current AIG.
A report prepared by Transition 2001, a bipartisan panel of about 60 American leaders in the areas of foreign and defense policy, outlining the most important national security challenges for the new administration, suggesting priorities, and recommending specific courses of action that the new president could take in the early days of his administration. Such decisive early action will be critical for setting U.S. foreign and national security policy on the right path for the balance of his term and beyond. Thissummary is based on more than 25 discussion papers on key issues and areas, prepared by RAND staff and others, analyzing the most critical foreign and national security issues facing the United States, both during the first part of the new administration and in the long term. The discussion papers are published in a companion report, RAND MR-1306/1-RC.
Change--in international relations, in technology, and in society as a whole--has become the idiom of our age. One example of these changes has been an increasing recognition of the value of air and space assets for handling nearly every contingency from disaster relief to war and, onsequently, increasing demand for such assets. These developments have created both challenges and opportunities for the U.S. Air Force. This, the fourth volume in the Strategic Appraisal series, draws on the expertise of researchers from across RAND to explore both the challenges and opportunities that the U.S. Air Force faces as it strives to support the nation's interests in a challenging technological and security environment.Contributors examine the changing roles of air and space forces in U.S.national security strategy, the implications of new systems and technologiesfor military operations, and the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. securitystrategy. Contributors also discuss the status of major modernizationefforts within the Air Force, and the bill of health of the Air Force, asmeasured by its readiness to undertake its missions both today and in thefuture.
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