Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** Jan. 7, 2025
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The Latest Attacks on America Follow a Familiar Playbook
In the early hours of New Year's Day, a driver intentionally rammed a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. A few hours later, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. There is no evidence suggesting the two attacks were coordinated, but these tragic events are a reminder that terrorist threats remain a deadly reality in the United States.
A new commentary by RAND's Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce Butterworth of the Mineta Transportation Institute discusses what we know about attacks that use vehicles. Jenkins and Butterworth note that such attacks are relatively rare, but they are not a new phenomenon. In fact, nearly all the elements of the New Orleans attack have been seen before: the use of a rental vehicle, an attack on pedestrians gathered for an event, the use of firearms and explosives, and the driver being killed in a final confrontation with police.
In the wake of these attacks, much of the country is on edge, and social media continues to fuel rumors, accusations, and conspiracy theories. "That we have been here before and persevered," Jenkins and Butterworth write, "is a source of cold comfort to those fearful today."
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Aftershocks Continue in the Middle East
It's been more than a year since Hamas's October 7 attacks and the start of Israel's military response. Since that earthquake rocked the region, a series of aftershocks have transformed the Middle East: Attacks by the Houthis have intensified, the shadow war between Israel and Iran has burst into the open, Hamas has been decimated, Hezbollah has been seriously bloodied, and the Assad regime in Syria has collapsed. Like its predecessors, the incoming Trump administration wants out of the Middle East. But, says RAND's Raphael Cohen, Washington "cannot end the tumult by presidential edict any more than an incantation can stop an earthquake."
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Improving Global Health Security in Asia
A new RAND study finds that Asia faces high risks related to global health security. To start, the continent's rapid economic growth has created favorable conditions for the emergence of diseases that spread from animals to humans. Further, the region's high population density, intensive livestock farming, and uneven public health system capacities may contribute to the spread of pathogens. These risks are amplified by a lack of coordination among U.S. agencies and global health security networks, which, if improved, could help enhance resilience against future health threats.
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